Department for Work and Pensions

Employment Schemes: Young People

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many starts by region have been recorded for the youth offer as of 01 March 2024.

Mims Davies: The Youth Offer launched on the 20 September 2020 and provides support for 16–24-year-olds who are on Universal Credit to help them move into employment. It includes three elements: The Youth Employment Programme, which provides young people dedicated intensive Work Coach support in finding & applying for jobs, with additional assistance available for those who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim.Youth Hubs, which bring together in one location DWP services with local support provided by youth experts. This ensures that the needs of young people are matched to services that help them tackle barriers to employment.Youth Employability Coaches, who are focused on supporting young people furthest from the labour market overcome complex challenges so that they can move into work. As of 01 March 2024, there have been 1,123,000 starts on the Youth Offer. Starts by strand nationally: Starts between datesYouth Employment ProgrammeYouth HubYouth Employability CoachYouth Offer21/09/2020 – 31/03/2021206,700  206,70001/04/2021 – 31/03/2022259,30014,80021,700295,80001/04/2021 – 31/03/2023272,70015,10018,300306,20001/04/2023 – 29/02/2024282,80013,00018,500314,300Total Starts1,021,50043,00058,5001,123,000 Starts by strand and region: RegionYouth Employment ProgrammeYouth HubYouth Employability CoachYouth OfferEast Midlands69,0001,0002,50072,500East of England78,4004003,80082,500London157,8003,1005,900166,800North East51,1002,8003,30057,200North West131,50010,7009,600151,800Scotland85,3003,0007,90096,200South East107,0003,7003,800114,600South West64,7007004,10069,500Wales51,5003002,20054,000West Midlands108,9008,9007,800125,600Yorkshire and The Humber96,4008,2007,300112,000Unknown19,80020040020,400Total1,021,50043,00058,5001,123,000 Notes:Eligible claimants who have recently begun their Universal Credit claim, and are actively searching for work, start in the Youth Employment Programme element of the Youth Offer. A Work Coach may later refer them to a Youth Hub, Youth Employability Coach or other employment support as appropriate based on their needs.When a claimant starts on any of the three elements of the Youth Offer, this is recorded as a start on that element, as well as a start on the Youth Offer.A claimant may take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer. They may start any element of the Youth Offer multiple times. Each of these starts is recorded as a start on the Youth Offer.Claimants do not take part in multiple elements of the Youth Offer simultaneously.Data for Youth Hubs and Youth Employability Coaches is not available prior to April-21.Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach data is produced from a manual process and although care is taken when processing and analysing Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach referrals, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system which features manual data. Therefore, Youth Hub and Youth Employability Coach figures are likely to underestimate the number of young people who have started at a Youth Hub and/or with a Youth Employability Coach.Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100. Therefore, the individual elements in the table may not sum to the total figure.Figures are subject to retrospective revision.Youth Offer starts are categorised as “unknown” in cases where limited data is available.

Universal Credit

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent estimate he has made of the non-claim rate for people migrating from legacy benefits to Universal Credit; and what the non-claim rate was estimated to be.

Jo Churchill: Following discovery, we are now able to use evidence to make a specific assumption of 26% for Tax Credit (TC) only claims and 4% for all other legacy benefit combinations. No previous estimate of tax credits only claims was made therefore it is wrong to compare the current TC claim rate to a 2010 assumption.

Carer's Allowance: Young People

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of Carer's Allowance eligibility rules on young carers' ability to access (a) further and (b) higher education.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has had discussions with (a) young carers and (b) advocacy groups on amending Carer's Allowance eligibility rules for people wishing to study more than 21 hours per week.

Mims Davies: The department regularly meets with groups of carers and those representing them at both Ministerial and Official level to discuss a range of issues, including Carer’s Allowance. Officials met a delegation of young carers, supported by the Carers Trust and the Learning and Work Institute, on 13 March. Carer's Allowance was introduced principally to provide a measure of financial support and recognition for people who are not able to work full time due to their caring responsibilities. The Government thinks it is right that people in full-time education should be supported by the educational maintenance system, via its range of loans and grants, and not the social security benefit system. That is why, as a general principle, full-time students are usually precluded from entitlement to income-related and income-maintenance benefits.There are currently no plans to change the full-time education rules for Carer’s Allowance, but carers are able to undertake part-time education and still receive Carer’s Allowance.

Access to Work Scheme: Musculoskeletal Disorders

Margaret Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Access to Work scheme for people with a musculoskeletal condition.

Mims Davies: The Department does collect information on Access to Work recipient's primary medical condition, however, we do not hold information to the level required to identify people with musculoskeletal conditions. Therefore, we cannot assess the effectiveness of Access to Work scheme for people with a musculoskeletal condition. Information on Access to Work volumes and expenditure by primary medical condition are published annually in the official statistics: Access to Work statistics: April 2007 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Universal Support: Veterans

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what progress his Department has made on developing the Universal Support programme as it relates to veterans.

Mims Davies: Universal Support is a new, voluntary employment programme for disabled people, those with health conditions and those with additional barriers to employment, and this will include veterans.  The programme will offer veterans up to 12 months of ‘place and train’ support from a dedicated keyworker – helping them to find a suitable role and providing tailored support for the participant and their employer to help sustain that work.

Jobcentres: Armed Forces

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15403 on Jobcentres: Armed Forces, for what reason his Department does not employ specific metrics to assess the performance of Armed Forces Champions in Jobcentres.

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15403 on Jobcentres: Armed Forces, how the performance of Armed Forces Champions in Jobcentres is (a) reviewed and (b) managed.

Mims Davies: The performance of Armed Forces Champions is reviewed in line with the Department’s performance management approach that includes regular one-to-ones with line managers to discuss team objectives, personal development and career progression. There are no specific metrics used, but good performance and achievements are recognised. In those areas where there are particularly high levels of demand, for example garrison towns, the local manager will ensure that the right level of support can be accessed.

Jobcentres: Finance

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to offer financial incentives for Jobcentre work coaches to get people into work.

Jo Churchill: DWP ran an initial incentives pilot for a 6-month period from March 2023 until August 2023. This was piloted alongside Additional Jobcentre Support (AJS) to support more claimants into work. A second phase of the incentives pilot commenced 1 January 2024 and is due to end 31 March 2024. The pilot is in line with existing Reward and Recognition policy and incentives are paid as reward vouchers.

Universal Credit: Adult Education

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to support people who are on Universal Credit to access free adult education.

Jo Churchill: Universal Credit (UC) claimants are required to undertake activity to address skills needs if this will help them enter and retain employment or find better paid work. Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches engage with claimants to identify and address these needs through options ranging from the Department for Education’s Skills Bootcamps; careers advice from National Careers Service advisors, many of whom are co-located in Jobcentre offices or DWP’s successful (Sector Based Work Academy Programmes).DWP’s Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) help employers who have immediate and future employment needs by providing short work focussed opportunities to fill local job vacancies. Through the adult education budget, Government funds the skills training that employers require and in return employers agree to offer work experience placements and a guaranteed offer of an interview for a live vacancy. Data for the financial years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24 to date shows that, as of 28 January 2024, there were a total of 266,330 starts to a Sector-based Work Academy Programme. Final start figures for 2023/24 will be available early next financial year.For claimants who need vocational and essential skills training (English/maths/digital), to support their work search goals, it was announced at Spring budget 2023 that the length of time UC claimants can undertake full time work-related training has been extended to up to 16 weeks. This means eligible claimants are able to access a wider range of courses, including those made available through the DfE Free Courses for Jobs initiative. Additionally, local Jobcentre Plus partnership teams work directly with colleges and training providers in their area to ensure claimants have access to the right skills support. Jobcentre Plus partnership leads also participate in DfE’s employer representative body led Local Skills improvement Partnerships across England, which are articulating local employer skills needs for consideration by colleges and local training providers.

Employment Schemes

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to encourage people not actively looking for work to find employment.

Jo Churchill: DWP supports people across the country to move into and progress in work, and is committed to reducing economic inactivity. We want everyone who can work to be able to find a job, progress, and thrive in the labour market. The Department delivers comprehensive employment support including face-to-face time with Work Coaches in Jobcentres and contracted employment programmes. Last year we also announced a wide range of additional support via the Spring Budget and the Back to Work Plan which will go further to break down barriers to work for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, parents, over 50s and young people.

Department of Health and Social Care

Gender Dysphoria: Medical Treatments

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what further steps she plans to take to ensure that clinicians operating in (a) the NHS and (b) private practice adhere to the NHS clinical guideline not recommending puberty suppressing hormones as a routine commissioning option for the treatment of children and adolescents who have gender incongruence or dysphoria.

Maria Caulfield: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Dr Lisa Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her Department's planned timetable is for its evaluation of the merits of using (a) 3D mammography and (b) other new cancer screening technologies.

Andrew Stephenson: The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is aware of research into the use of three-dimensional (3D) mammography and the growing interest to use artificial intelligence (AI) in the National Health Service breast screening programme. Guidance has been published on GOV.UK on the use of Tomosynthesis 3D imaging in a clinical trial setting as part of the NHS breast screening programme. The UK NSC had also worked with Health Technology Assessments to design an evaluation of existing AI in a prospective study to look at whether it could be used to read breast screening mammograms. There are currently no plans to adopt these technologies, but evidence to inform a UK NSC decision on the use of 3D mammography and AI in the NHS breast screening programme will be reviewed by the Committee when available.

Diabetes: Medical Equipment

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department is taking steps to increase uptake in the use of monitoring technologies by patients with diabetes.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recently issued clinical guidelines in relation to the management of insulin dependent diabetes, covering patients living with type 1 and insulin dependent type 2 diabetes. This includes devices to support blood glucose monitoring. These recommendations are now being implemented by integrated care boards (ICBs). On 19 December 2023, NICE published its final recommendation on the hybrid closed loop system for people with type 1 diabetes. NICE has agreed with NHS England that all children and young people, women who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, and those people who already have an insulin pump will be first to be offered a hybrid closed loop system as part of a 5-year roll-out plan. NHS England has set out priorities for access, to help reduce healthcare inequalities through their implementation plan. Responsibility for the delivery of services and the implementation of NICE recommendations rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner. As diabetes care is commissioned by local ICBs, they are responsible for developing commissioning policies. ICBs must pay due regard to NICE guidance, however local decision making applies in terms of deciding whether to utilise their funding to implement the recommendation or not.

Slaughterhouses: Registration

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many slaughterhouses were registered with the Food Standards Agency in 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: The Food Standards Agency has regulatory responsibility for approving slaughterhouses in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. During 2023, the agency approved two new slaughterhouses. The number of approved slaughterhouses at the end of 2023 was 243.

Electronic Cigarettes: Children

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment she has made of the (a) prevalence of the use of disposable vapes by people under the age of 18 and (b) impact of that use on their health.

Andrea Leadsom: Vaping is never recommended for children and carries the risk of future harm and addiction. The active ingredient in most vapes, apart from nicotine-free vapes, is nicotine which, when inhaled, is a highly addictive drug. Evidence suggests that the brain in adolescence is more sensitive to the effects of nicotine, so there could be additional risks for young people. The long-term health harms of colours and flavours when inhaled are unknown, but they are certainly very unlikely to be beneficial.The Department does not hold data on the prevalence of the use of disposable vapes by people under the age of 18 years old. However, Action on Smoking and Health’s survey, Use of e-cigarettes among young people in Great Britain, found that 69% of vape users aged 11 to 17 years old mainly used disposable vapes in 2023, rising from 7.7% in 2021. Northern Ireland’s Young person’s behaviour and attitude survey 2022, shows that 85.7% of 11 to 16 year olds in Northern Ireland who currently use vapes, reported that they used disposables. Both surveys are available respectively at the following links:https://ash.org.uk/resources/view/use-of-e-cigarettes-among-young-people-in-great-britainhttps://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/young-persons-behaviour-and-attitudes-survey-2022-substance-use-data-tables

Pharmacy

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to audit Pharmacy First; and whether she plans to consult the pharmacy professions on its future.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to help ensure GPs are trained to engage with Pharmacy First.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps is she taking to ensure the compatibility of IT systems used by GPs and pharmacies.

Andrea Leadsom: Pharmacy First was launched on 31 January 2024. The Department and NHS England will closely monitor the service. Additionally, the National Institute for Health and Care Research has commissioned a wrap-around evaluation of Pharmacy First, with a focus on antimicrobial resistance. There are no plans to change this service, which has only recently launched, but if any changes were proposed then we would consult Community Pharmacy England, as the representative body for all pharmacy contractors in England.General practices (GPs) and their teams already refer patients to community pharmacies for a wide range of services. Pharmacy First, for minor illnesses, is built on the existing Community Pharmacy Consultation Service. NHS England has further engaged with GP representatives during the development and launch of Pharmacy First.The Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care announced plans to significantly improve the digital infrastructure between GPs and community pharmacies. Pharmacy IT systems already generate automated emails to the patient’s GP following a consultation. We are taking this one step further for Pharmacy First. Later this year, pharmacy IT systems will send information about a Pharmacy First consultation directly into the GP’s workflow. This will be a first for the National Health Service, but will become the norm over time for other parts of the NHS, further reducing bureaucracy for GPs. Pharmacies will also have access to more parts of the patient’s GP record, and referrals will be streamlined.

Health: Screening and Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of offering a health check with annual vaccinations.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS Vaccine Strategy, Shaping the future delivery of NHS vaccination services, published in December 2023, sets out that vaccination is a public health opportunity to integrate the delivery of vaccinations with wider person-centred healthcare services, planned and delivered by neighbourhood teams. It advises integrated care systems (ICSs) to structure the delivery of vaccinations via the neighbourhood teams to maximise uptake of other preventative services, as well as vaccination uptake. There are no plans to make a specific assessment of the potential merits of offering a health check alongside annual vaccinations.

Shingles: Vaccination

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of widening the availability of the shingles vaccination to those aged between 66 and 69 years old.

Maria Caulfield: The potential merit of offering the Shingrix shingles vaccine to adults aged 65 years old from 1 September 2023 is to achieve population benefit from a vaccine which is predicted to provide longer lasting protection, meaning individuals can be vaccinated sooner and benefit for longer, compared to the previous shingles programme using the Zostavax vaccine.This reduction in the age of eligibility is part of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s advice, that the roll-out of the 10-year expansion of the shingles programme should be done with a phased approach, to avoid undue additional pressure on National Health Service delivery services. The Shingrix two dose vaccine will be offered to those aged between 65 and 70 years old, until everyone aged 65 to 70 years old has been offered the vaccine, and then to those aged between 60 and 65 years old, until everyone aged 60 to 65 years old has been offered the vaccine. The vaccine would then be offered routinely from 60 years of age. Those over the age of 70 years old remain eligible until they turn 80 years old. Those aged 50 years old and over, who are at higher risk of serious complications as a result of having a severely weakened immune system, are also eligible.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans she has to roll out the Covid 19 vaccination programme.

Maria Caulfield: The Government remains committed to protecting those most vulnerable to COVID-19 through vaccination, as guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). On 7 February 2024, the JCVI published further advice on the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 vaccination programme. The JCVI advice is that a COVID-19 vaccine should be offered in spring 2024 to those at greatest risk of serious disease, and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination. Those eligible are: - adults aged 75 years old and over;- residents in a care home for older adults; and- individuals aged six months old and over who are immunosuppressed, as defined in chapter 14a of the Green Book. The Government has accepted this advice, with the spring 2024 COVID-19 vaccination programme planned to start in the middle of April. The JCVI will continue to review the optimal timing and frequency of future COVID-19 vaccination beyond spring 2024, and will provide further advice in due course.

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when she plans to provide a substantive answer to Question 16155 on Blood: Contamination, tabled on 28 February 2024 by the Hon. Member for Glenrothes.

Maria Caulfield: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to Question 16155 on 18 March 2024.

Suicide: Health Services

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing additional funding to help reduce the number of suicides in high-frequency suicide locations (a) along the south coast and (b) in the UK.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will take steps to commission research into the (a) adequacy of the support provided and (b) potential merits of providing alternative support to local authorities to help reduce the rate of suicide in high-frequency suicide locations.

Maria Caulfield: The Suicide Prevention Strategy 2023 for England is a five-year strategy which sets out the Government’s ambition for suicide prevention, together with over 100 actions that we think will deliver this. High frequency locations are a priority area, and we expect local commissioners to align with this.The National Institute of Health Research is currently funding a £1.1 million research award to assess the effectiveness of surveillance technologies to prevent suicides at high-risk locations. The purpose of this study is to discern what technology is currently being used, how effective it is in preventing suicides, including understanding any unintended consequences of its use, and possible barriers to effectiveness.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to support hospital trusts with significant waiting lists to (a) share and (b) implement best practices in (i) England and (ii) Slough constituency.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Health Service and the Department are aiming to transform elective care across England. This includes providing additional regional or national support and intervention to the most challenged trusts. We are driving activity by using wider system capacity, through use of the independent sector, mutual aid, offering patients a choice at the point of referral, and expanding and protecting elective planned diagnostic services through community diagnostic centres (CDC). In January 2024, a new CDC opened in Slough delivering additional checks, tests, and scans as mobile activity. To help manage the demand, the NHS is providing ongoing rigorous delivery monitoring, sharing best practice approaches between trusts, providing specialised advice in primary care, and driving productivity through pilot schemes and a new network of surgical hubs.

Clinical Trials: Recruitment

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will develop the workforce recruitment and retention strategy to allow clinicians to be involved in clinical research.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government wants to create an environment where staff are supported in their careers, and that includes where they choose to take part in clinical research. Autonomy and flexibility around career planning is of growing importance to clinicians as they progress through their careers, and many may wish to balance their clinical responsibilities with educational, leadership, management, and research roles. This is something that the National Health Service will continue to support as it is an important factor in supporting retention.The National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Academy builds research capacity and leadership in the NHS and social care across all regions in England, attracting, developing, and retaining researchers at all career stages. Since the NIHR launched in 2006, the academy has funded career development across 194 different professions and specialties.

Dental Services: Contracts

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many dental practices handed back their NHS contract in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.

Andrea Leadsom: From 1 April 2023, the responsibility for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to all integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. This included the transfer of all funding, Units of Dental Activity, and the management responsibility for National Health Service dentistry.As set out in Our plan to recover and reform NHS dentistry, we are working on further reforms to the 2006 contract, in discussion with the dental profession, to properly reflect the care needed by different patients, and more fairly remunerate practices. We expect to develop options for consultation with the dental profession in advance of a further announcement later this year. Any changes would be phased in from 2025 onwards. We do not hold data centrally on how many dental practices handed back their NHS contract in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Shingles: Vaccination

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of her Department's decision to exclude people aged between 66 and 69 on 1 September 2023 who do not have a severely weakened immune system in the phased roll-out of the shingles vaccination on those people.

Maria Caulfield: An assessment on the potential impact of not providing the vaccine to people aged 66 to 69 years old is not required, as they remain eligible to receive a shingles vaccination when they turn 70 years old, as they would have done prior to 1 September 2023.The current policy offers the shingles vaccine Shingrix to anyone who turned 65 or 70 years old on or after 1 September 2023, and to anyone aged 50 years old and over who is at higher risk of serious complications as a result of having a severely weakened immune system.This approach has been used in the effective implementation of previous immunisation programmes. Whilst some individuals may have to wait until they are eligible, the population benefit of adopting this approach is greater, meaning many individuals will receive the vaccine sooner and will benefit for longer.The approach is modelled on the first shingles programme, optimizing achievements within the resources and capacity of the National Health Service, while being delivered alongside other important healthcare priorities, and avoiding undue additional pressure on NHS delivery services.

Sodium Valproate: Compensation

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to The Hughes Report, published on 7 February 2024, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing interim payments to victims of sodium valproate.

Maria Caulfield: The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.

Infectious Diseases: Babies

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) active and (b) passive surveillance measures in informing prevention strategies for infectious diseases in newborn babies.

Maria Caulfield: The Infectious Diseases in Pregnancy Screening programme (IDPS) for HIV, Hepatitis B and syphilis is monitored through surveillance systems within the UK Health Security Agency. This programme is delivered through NHS England which also monitors it through their Integrated Screening Outcomes Surveillance Service (ISOSS). IDPS is offered in every pregnancy, with a high uptake of 99.7%.All pregnancies with a screen positive result for these infections are reported to NHS England’s ISOSS which conducts active surveillance, including pregnancy and infant outcome. Data collected through ISOSS enables the IDPS to monitor performance, review all positive cases and identify new areas for further audit and research.All instances of vertical transmission, previously known as mother-to-child transmission, of infection for HIV, hepatitis B and diagnosis of congenital syphilis in babies are investigated and anonymously reviewed by clinical experts to add to the understanding of the burden of disease and risk factors associated with it. Data and findings from ISOSS are used to improve the screening pathway and feed into the production of national clinical guidance for the treatment and management of these infections in pregnancy.

Drugs: Safety

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Coroner’s report entitled Oli Hoque: Prevention of future deaths report, published on 13 October 2022, what steps NHS England is taking to allow the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority to compel the timely production of clinical data when conducting investigations into harms arising from regulated medicines.

Maria Caulfield: The NHS England National Patient Safety Team and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) routinely work closely on both system development, and a number of safety issues. The NHS England National Patient Safety Team have a data sharing agreement with the MHRA, and provide regular sharing of patient safety incidents reported to NHS England, that are classified as medication incidents or medical device incidents. In addition, the MHRA are able to request focussed searches of reported incidents if they are working on a specific issue. However, the MHRA does not have the legal powers to compel healthcare professionals to provide additional information after an initial report of a suspected adverse reaction. The MHRA has been working with the National Health Service to explore approaches to facilitate digital linkage of Yellow Card information to clinical records, and potentially to enable faster access to information, where considered necessary for an assessment. This work remains ongoing.

Sodium Valproate and Surgical Mesh Implants: Compensation

Simon Jupp: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Hughes Report: Options for redress for those harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh, published by the Patient Safety Commissioner on 7 February 2024, whether she has made an assessment of the potential implication for her policies of the provision of financial redress for people harmed by valproate and pelvic mesh.

Maria Caulfield: The Government commissioned the Patient Safety Commissioner (PSC) to produce a report on redress for those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. We are grateful to the PSC and her team for completing this report and our sympathies remain with those affected by sodium valproate and pelvic mesh. The Government is now carefully considering the PSC’s recommendations and will respond substantively in due course.

Lung Cancer: Screening

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the additional resources required in (a) primary care, (b) thoracic surgery and (c) systemic anti-cancer therapy clinics following the implementation of a national lung cancer screening programme.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England is responsible for the roll out of the NHS Targeted Lung Cancer Screening Programme, and work is underway to assess any potential additional resources that may be required at a national level. Primary care capacity has not been directly estimated by NHS England as the impact on capacity is mainly through the identification of incidental findings that require follow-up. This is highly dependent on existing local services and practices, and numbers are not held nationally.The assessment on thoracic surgery is complex as some surgery would still be required in the absence of screening. In addition, requirements of systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) clinics are equally complex, although some clinics will be required for those diagnosed through the targeted lung cancer screening programme, once fully implemented, the programme could deliver a reduction in SACT demand for patients no longer diagnosed at the latest stage.

Lung Cancer: Screening

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many Targeted Lung Health Check sites are planned to begin operation in each financial year until 2027-28.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England is responsible for the running of the Targeted Lung Health Check (TLHC) Programme, and the roll out of the NHS Targeted Lung Cancer Screening Programme. NHS England does not hold the number of TLHC sites that will be in operation in each financial year until 2027/28. This is because the TLHC programme has moved away from the initial pilot sites, and towards a national rollout of a targeted lung cancer screening programme. The focus is therefore on overall population coverage, rather than the number of sites.Plans for 2024/25 are currently being finalised by NHS England, including trajectories for expected population coverage. Plans from 2025/26 and beyond will be subject to the outcome of a future Spending Review. The programme is expected to have invited approximately 25% of the currently eligible population by the end of March 2024.

Hysteroscopy

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has taken steps to amend NICE guidelines relating to potentially painful and unnecessary hysteroscopies for people requiring diagnostic testing for cancer.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is responsible for making decisions independently on whether its guidelines should be updated in light of new evidence or emerging issues not in the scope of the original guideline.The NICE has published a number of guidelines that relate to the diagnosis of cancer or hysteroscopies, and is currently updating its guideline on the assessment of treatment of fertility problems. The NICE currently expects to publish final updated guidance in May 2025.

Health Services

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what her planned timetable is for the publication of the Major Conditions Strategy; and whether there will be additional funding for that strategy.

Andrew Stephenson: We expect to publish the Major Conditions Strategy in spring of this year. The Spring Budget 2024 announced that the Government is protecting NHS England’s day-to-day funding in real terms, by providing an extra £2.45 billion in 2024/25. On productivity, the Government is investing £3.4 billion of capital funding to significantly reduce the 13 million hours of clinical staff time lost to poor IT every year, as well as revolutionising treatment for a range of illnesses such as cancer and strokes.The Government has not committed any further additional funding specific to the Major Conditions Strategy. However, as part of the strategy, we will be identifying innovative actions to help alleviate pressure on the National Health Service and support improvement within the current settlement.

Postural Tachycardia Syndrome

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to support people living with postural tachycardia syndrome.

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking to increase (a) awareness of and (b) research investment in postural tachycardia syndrome.

Andrew Stephenson: To improve awareness of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) amongst healthcare professionals, and specifically general practices (GPs), the Royal College of General Practitioners provides training on PoTS as part of its Syncope toolkit, which is available at the following link: https://elearning.rcgp.org.uk/mod/book/view.php?id=12386&chapterid=247 The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has also produced a clinical knowledge summary, last revised in November 2023, which outlines the method healthcare professionals should follow for diagnosing PoTS. This summary is available at the following link: https://cks.nice.org.uk/topics/blackouts-syncope/diagnosis/assessment/ GPs are asked to investigate symptoms to ensure that it is not misdiagnosed. Following referral, patients are treated within National Health Service cardiology and neurology services. Where more specialist advice is required, a referral will be made to an appropriate clinician. Services for PoTS are locally commissioned and, as such, it is the responsibility of the local commissioning teams within integrated care boards to ensure that their locally commissioned services meet the needs of their local population. The Department invests over £1 billion per year in health research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR funds research in response to proposals received from scientists rather than allocating funding to specific disease areas. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including PoTS, although it is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money, and scientific quality.

NHS Trusts: Equality

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many NHS Trusts employ people with responsibility for equality and diversity at director level.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department does not hold this information centrally. It is the responsibility of National Health Service organisations to determine the number of equality, diversity and inclusion roles based on need.Equality, diversity, and inclusion roles support local NHS organisations in meeting the legal requirements set out for public bodies such as the NHS in the Equality Act 2010, and our public sector equality duty. These cover not just race, ethnicity, or nationality, but also, disability, sexual orientation, gender, faith, and other protected characteristics.They promote the fair treatment of staff by ensuring there is a particular focus on tackling the discrimination that some staff face in the workplace. They also support retention and attraction of staff, with the aim of making the NHS the best place to work. In addition, these roles work to extend careers by creating inclusive workplaces, safeguarding investment made in training and educating doctors and nurses.

Abiraterone

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason abiraterone is not available for free through the NHS in England.

Andrew Stephenson: The National Health Service in England funds abiraterone for eligible NHS patients in line with recommendations published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). It has been recommended by the NICE for the treatment of metastatic hormone-relapsed prostate cancer before chemotherapy is indicated, and for castration-resistant metastatic prostate cancer previously treated with a docetaxel-containing regimen.NHS England is in the process of considering a clinical policy proposal for the use of abiraterone as an off-label treatment option for patients newly diagnosed with high risk, non-metastatic, hormone-sensitive prostate cancer, or in whom prostate cancer has relapsed after at least 12 months without treatment. The policy proposal was sent out to stakeholder testing between the 30 November and 14 December 2023, and will now be considered by NHS England’s Clinical Priorities Advisory Group, who make recommendations on NHS England’s approach to commissioning services, treatments, and technologies, and considers which of these should be prioritised for investment.

Arthritis

Dr Philippa Whitford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department is taking to raise awareness of the (a) symptoms of inflammatory arthritis and (b) support available for patients and families.

Andrew Stephenson: The Government has produced a guide on musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions, which is available at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/musculoskeletal-health-applying-all-our-health/musculoskeletal-health-applying-all-our-healthThe Department is currently developing a Major Conditions Strategy, in consultation with NHS England and colleagues across the Government. Given their contribution to the burden of disease, MSK conditions such as arthritis will be included in the strategy.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has produced expert guidance to support healthcare professionals in the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. The guidance for the early diagnosis and management of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis is available, respectively, at the following links:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng100https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng226From 2022/23 to 2024/25, the Government is spending more than £11.3 billion to support elective recovery and tackle long waiting times, which could deliver nine million more checks and procedures to help support patients with conditions like arthritis. In the Spring Budget 2023, the Government also announced £400 million of funding for scaling up MSK Physical Activity Hubs and embedding employment advice within MSK pathways.General rheumatology services, which support people with a range of conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, are locally commissioned by integrated care boards, which are best placed to make decisions according to local need.

Cancer: Children

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate she has made of the cost of moving children's cancer services for South London and the South East of England to the Evelina.

Andrew Stephenson: NHS England is leading the reconfiguration of children’s cancer services for South London and South East England. At a meeting on 14 March 2024, NHS England confirmed their decision that the Principal Treatment Centre should be located at Evelina London Children’s Hospital.NHS England’s financial impact assessment for the reconfiguration confirmed that the future Principal Treatment Centre would use a £20 million national capital contribution from NHS England, plus a contribution from their local health commissioners of between approximately £11 million to £14 million. The Evelina London option would also use £10 million of grant funding from the trust charity.NHS England has made clear that as the future provider develops its outline business case and full business case, it will need to continue to demonstrate affordability with mitigations in place for associated risks. These business cases will require NHS England and the Department’s Joint Investment sub-Committee’s approval, before contractor procurement and construction, ahead of the Principal Treatment Centre becoming operational in October 2026.

Cancer: Children

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the cost was of the consultation on moving children's cancer services for South London and the South East of England.

Andrew Stephenson: The Department does not hold data on the cost of the consultation run by NHS England on the reconfiguration of children’s cancer services in South London and the South East.

Treasury

Treasury: Pay

Grahame Morris: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the impact that changes in the national (a) living  and (b) minimum wage commencing on 1 April 2024 will have on staffing costs in his Department; and how many staff in his Department will receive a pay uplift as a result of those changes.

Gareth Davies: All HM Treasury staff are paid above the National Living Wage. The changes that take effect on 1 April 2024 will therefore have no impact on staffing costs to the Department.

Roads: Accidents

Helen Morgan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the value attributed to a prevented fatality in his Department's Green Book.

Laura Trott: The Government uses a common value for the Value of a Prevented Fatality (VPF). The monetary valuation of VPF can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tag-data-book.It is uprated annually in line with inflation and real income growth. It is reviewed by HM Treasury on an ongoing basis and updated when new evidence becomes available.

London Allowance

Julian Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make it his policy to exempt London weighting allowance payments from (a) income tax and (b) national insurance contributions.

Nigel Huddleston: London weighting allowances are an additional wage supplement to people's incomes. They are therefore subject to NICs and income tax. Exempting London weighting allowances from income tax and NICs would increase the complexity of the tax system and be open to abuse.  The Government keeps all taxes under review.

Taxation: Compensation

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much compensation HMRC has paid in each of the last five years as a result of errors made on calculating taxes about which the relevant person has made a complaint.

Nigel Huddleston: HMRC does not hold the information requested. Information on HMRC complaints can be found within the HMRC monthly performance reports at HMRC monthly performance reports - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Taxation: Prosecutions

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Answer of 6 September 2017 to Question 6732 on Taxation: Prosecutions, how many prosecutions resulted from HMRC's criminal investigations into tax avoidance and evasion in the financial year (a) 2017-18, (b) 2018-19, (c) 2019-20, (d) 2020-21, (e) 2021-22, (f) 2022-23 and (g) 2023-24; and how many of those prosecutions resulted in (i) convictions and (ii) acquittals in each year.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to Table 2 of the Answer of 13 April 2021 to Question 174107 on Tax Evasion: Prosecutions, if he will publish the (a) number of individuals charged and (b) number of individuals charged with tax evasion by HMRC for the financial years (i) 2021-22, (ii) 2022-23 and (iii) 2023-24.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions have resulted from HMRC's criminal investigations into avoidance and evasion of (i) income tax, (ii) national insurance contributions, (iii) VAT, (iv) excise duties and (v) corporation tax in each financial year between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what was the value of civil penalties (a) imposed and (b) collected as a result of HMRC's criminal investigations into tax avoidance and evasion in each financial year between 2010-11 and 2023-24; and what was the value of civil penalties (a) imposed and (b) collected for the avoidance and evasion of (i) income tax, (ii) national insurance contributions, (iii) VAT, (iv) excise duties and (v) corporation tax in each of those years.

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many Deferred Prosecution Agreements have been reached as a result of HMRC's criminal investigations into tax avoidance and evasion between 1 January 2014 and 13 March 2024; and what is the value of financial penalties from those agreements.

Nigel Huddleston: Where data is already available via GOV.UK, HMRC have provided links below. HMRC do not routinely issue civil penalties as a direct result of criminal investigations, so do not hold the requested data. Prosecutions, convictions and acquittals:2019-2020https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5ed7b06786650c76af069ac4/HMRC_quarterly_report_data_table_Q4_2019_to_2020.xlsx 2020-21 and 2021-22https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/630f50178fa8f54491def8ce/HMRC_quarterly_performance_data_table_Q4_2021_to_2022.xlsx 2022-23https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64b00f4bfe36e0000d6fa93e/HMRC-Quarterly-update_Quarter-4_2022-to-2023_data-table.xlsx  Total number of individuals charged:2020/21 and 2021/22:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/630f50178fa8f54491def8ce/HMRC_quarterly_performance_data_table_Q4_2021_to_2022.xlsx 2022/23:https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64b00f4bfe36e0000d6fa93e/HMRC-Quarterly-update_Quarter-4_2022-to-2023_data-table.xlsx There has been one Deferred Prosecution Agreement:https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/first-ever-cps-deferred-prosecution-agreement-ps615-million

National Insurance

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to National Insurance contributions on incentivising workforce participation (a) generally and (b) among people not currently looking for work.

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of changes to personal tax thresholds on incentives to work.

Nigel Huddleston: The Office for Budget Responsibility provide the official government forecasts. Their estimate of the impact of personal tax policies on work incentives can be found in Box 3.2 of their Economic and Fiscal Outlook – March 2024.

Holiday Accommodation: Finance

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to take steps to financially support short term holiday let operators when the Furnished Holiday Let tax scheme is ended.

Nigel Huddleston: The Government has announced that it will abolish the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) tax regime, equalising the tax treatment of landlords with short-term holiday lets and those with standard residential properties. This will take effect from April 2025, giving FHL landlords time to adjust to the change.Following abolition, individual FHL landlords will have access to the same tax reliefs as other residential landlords. These include restricted finance cost relief and replacement of domestic items relief.The Government keeps all tax policy under review and any decisions on future changes will be taken by the Chancellor in the context of the wider public finances.

Revenue and Customs: Conferences

Dame Margaret Hodge: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will provide a list of the attendees at the HMRC's stakeholder conference on 16 February 2024.

Nigel Huddleston: We are unable to provide specific details of the individuals who attended as this would be in breach of GDPR rules.

Landfill Tax

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16898 on Landfill Tax, whether he has had recent discussions with the (a) Environment Agency and (b) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on the alignment of landfill tax reforms with environmental policy.

Emma Hardy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16898 on Landfill Tax, what discussions has he had with the (a) Environment Agency, (b) Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and (c) waste disposal sector on the potential impact of the removal of landfill tax exemptions.

Gareth Davies: Documents relating to the ongoing review of Landfill Tax in England and Wales are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/landfill-tax-review-call-for-evidence. These confirm the government is considering a range of options to future-proof, simplify and improve environmental outcomes from the tax. To this end, HM Treasury officials continue to work closely with departments including HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Environment Agency – as well as with external interested parties, before confirming further next steps.

Oil and Natural Gas: Taxation

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will take steps (a) for tax relief generated through the investment allowance for oil and gas companies through the Energy Profits Levy to be returned to the Exchequer and (b) to allocate that money to the construction of a 5GW offshore wind farm.

Gareth Davies: The UK currently requires oil and gas to meet our energy needs, and there will be a continued role for oil and gas over the coming decades. The Energy Profits Levy includes investment allowances which give the oil and gas sector additional incentives to reinvest its profits to support the economy, jobs and the UK’s energy security.  The Government already provides significant support for low-carbon electricity generation development through the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, which has been hugely successful in driving the deployment of renewable energy whilst reducing costs. Since introduction, the CfD has contracted over 30GW of low-carbon generation including 20GW of offshore wind.

Department for Education

Schools: Work Experience

Sarah Owen: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help ensure that school work experience placements are accessible to students living with disabilities.

David Johnston: Work experience is an important aspect of the support pupils receive to follow rewarding learning and training pathways which lead to fulfilling careers.The department works with The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) to support secondary schools in providing pupils with multiple interactions with employers from year 7 to year 13 in line with Gatsby Benchmark 6 - Experiences of the Workplace. This 2023/24 financial year, the department has asked CEC to drive this agenda forward at pace to increase workplace opportunities, targeting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. This is in response to evidence that these pupils are less likely to access work experience opportunities than their peers.The CEC Careers Hub network has been asked to use a proportion of their Hub Delivery Fund to stimulate meaningful employer-led activities to increase the quantity and quality of opportunities for young people to engage in encounters of the workplace. Within the fund, there is a focus on alternative provision, SEND and Pupil Referral Units across all year groups. One funded activity, ‘Let’s Explore VR’ delivered fully immersive experiences to SEND pupils across the Liverpool City Region, who faced social barriers to accessing and engaging with workplace careers insights and traditional work experience. The activity provided unique and engaging insights into a variety of workplaces, careers and sectors using virtual reality to transport the students into the world of work.The CEC’s training is designed to promote SEND inclusion. The CEC have developed SEND awareness training for their Enterprise Coordinators and Enterprise Advisers and provide SEND Careers training to Careers Leaders and special educational needs co-ordinators in schools, to support the development of careers plans and employer experiences appropriate to the needs of students with SEND. There are now 38 named SEND specific Enterprise Coordinators in place across 31 Careers Hubs. Enterprise Coordinators are trained professionals who work with a cluster of 20 schools and colleges to build careers plans and make connections to local and national employers. In addition, 300 Enterprise Coordinators have undertaken masterclass training to gain an understanding of how to support schools, colleges and special schools with young people with SEND.Supported internships are a study programme for young people aged 16 to 24 who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and want to move into employment. They equip young people with the skills they need to secure and sustain employment through learning in the workplace.The department is investing approximately £18 million until 2025 to build capacity in the supported internships programme and support more young people with EHC plans into employment.In the 2023 Spring Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced up to £3 million to pilot extending supported internships to young people with learning difficulties and disabilities without an EHC plan by March 2025. The pilot is being rolled out in 12 local authorities.

Childcare

Fabian Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her Department's policies of the press release on childcare costs published by Pregnant Then Screwed on 18 February 2024.

David Johnston: By the 2027/2028 financial year, this government will expect to be spending in excess of £8 billion every year on free hours and early education. This is the single biggest investment in childcare in England ever. From April 2024, eligible working parents of 2 year olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare per week (38 weeks of the year) from the term after the child’s 2nd birthday. Over 100,000 parents have already applied for the expansion starting in April, and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, has confirmed that our latest projections show that more than 150,000 new funded places will be secured by early April. From September 2024, the department will provide working parents with 15 hours of free childcare a week from when their child is 9 months until they start school. This will increase to 30 hours from September 2025. Delivering that ambition includes increasing childcare funding rates, with an additional £204 million in this financial year, an additional £400 million in the coming financial year and guaranteed uplifts in line with cost pressures for two years after that. The department is providing grants to help new childminders enter the sector and, to make it easier for the sector, making changes to the early years foundation stage to provide more flexibility. The department hears every day from families how significant this policy will be for their finances. Once the roll-out is completed, eligible families will save up to £6,500 per year. The roll out will help parents to return to work or increase their hours, and tens of thousands of parents have already successfully applied for their codes, ready to take up their places in April. To see the full range of support they are entitled to, parents should visit: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/. Hundreds of thousands of children aged 3 and 4 are already registered for a 30-hour place, which can save eligible working parents up to £6,500 per child per year. Expanding this entitlement to younger children across the country will help even more working parents with the cost of childcare and make a real difference to the lives of those families. In addition to the expanded entitlements, the government has also taken action to support parents on Universal Credit with childcare costs upfront when they need it, rather than in arrears. The department has increased support for these parents by increasing the childcare cost maximum amounts to £950 for one child and £1,629 for two children. Tax-Free Childcare remains available for working parents of children aged 0-11, or up to 17 for eligible disabled children. This can save parents up to £2,000 per year, or up to £4,000 for eligible children with disabilities and has the same income criteria as 30 hours free childcare.

Teachers: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact of school building conditions on trends in the level of teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention.

Damian Hinds: There are now record numbers of full-time equivalent teachers in state-funded schools in England, totalling over 468,000, which is an increase of 27,000 (6%) since 2010.The department appreciates that there is more to do, particularly in disadvantaged areas. The department is offering a Levelling Up Premium worth up to £3,000 after tax for mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing teachers in the first five years of their careers who choose to work in disadvantaged schools. For the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years, the department will be doubling the rates of the Levelling Up Premium to up to £6,000 after tax.This is on top of the 6.5% pay award that teachers and leaders in maintained schools received for 2023/24, which was the highest pay award for teachers in over thirty years, delivered on our manifesto commitment of a minimum £30,000 starting salary for school teachers in all regions of the country. This, combined with the increase in the LUP, means a new maths teacher in Blackpool could be receiving the equivalent of £38,570 starting salary next year, before accounting for the 2024/25 pay award.To further support recruitment to high-priority subjects, the department also provides financial incentives worth up to £196 million, including bursaries worth £28,000 tax-free and scholarships worth £30,000 tax-free, to encourage talented trainees to teach mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing.To help retention, the department has published a range of resources to help address teacher workload and wellbeing and support schools to introduce flexible working practices. The department has convened a workload reduction taskforce to explore how it can further support trust and school leaders to minimise workload for teachers.Well-maintained, safe school buildings are a priority for the department. Responsibility for keeping buildings safe and well-maintained lies with schools and their responsible bodies, such as local authorities, academy trusts and voluntary-aided bodies. The department supports them by providing capital funding, delivering major rebuilding programmes and offering guidance and support.The department has allocated over £15 billion since 2015 to keep schools safe and operational, including £1.8 billion in 2023/24. This is informed by consistent data on the condition of the school estate. The department’s School Rebuilding Programme will transform buildings in poor condition at over 500 schools. New buildings are already being delivered across the country with modern designs that are designed to be net zero carbon in operation.

Pupils: Exercise

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help increase levels of physical activity in (a) pre-school, (b) primary school and (c) secondary school children.

Damian Hinds: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport published the Get Active strategy in 2023, which aims to build a more active nation. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-active-a-strategy-for-the-future-of-sport-and-physical-activity#Details. Central to this is a focus on ensuring that children establish a lifetime of engagement with sport and physical activity. The strategy sets an ambition that all children should meet the UK Chief Medical Officers’ guidelines on physical activity, with a target of getting 1 million more active children by 2030. In July 2023 the Department for Education published an update to the cross-government School Sport and Activity Action Plan (SSAAP) which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-sport-and-activity-action-plan. The plan sets out actions to help all pupils take part in sport and do more physical activity. The update builds on the government’s announcement in March 2023 that set out new ambitions for equal access to physical education (PE) and sport for girls and boys, 2 hours of PE a week alongside over £600 million funding for the Primary PE and Sport Premium (in academic years 2023/24 and 2024/25) and the School Games Organiser Network. The department will shortly be publishing new non-statutory guidance on PE and sport, exemplifying practice from primary and secondary schools. In recognition of the importance of young children being physically active, physical development is one of the three prime areas of learning as set out in the statutory Early Years Foundation Stage framework that all early years providers in England must follow. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-foundation-stage-framework--2.

Schools: Buildings

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring schools to report to her Department when they have to close temporarily due to building issues.

Damian Hinds: ​​Academy trusts, local authorities, and voluntary-aided school bodies are responsible for collecting and recording information about their buildings and ensuring they are safe, well-maintained and comply with relevant regulations. The department supports schools and colleges on how this should be done in the Good Estate Management for Schools guidance which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/good-estate-management-for-schools.​When the department is made aware of a significant issue with a building that cannot be managed locally, additional support is provided on a case-by-case basis.​

Special Educational Needs: Staff

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that there are sufficient qualified staff to deal with Education, Health and Care Plans.

David Johnston: As part of the reforms to the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) system, the department is currently testing measures to deliver a nationally consistent Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan system and improve the quality and speed with which support is put in place. The department is taking steps to increase the capacity of the workforce supporting children and young people with SEND, but it is the responsibility of individual employers, including local authorities, schools and healthcare settings, to plan their staffing levels in line with their local service priorities.Educational psychologists have a critical role, providing statutory input into EHC plan assessments and advising the school workforce on how to support children and young people with SEND. The department is investing over £21 million to train 400 more educational psychologists from 2024.Since 2020, the department has increased the number of educational psychologist trainees that we fund to over 200, from 160 per year. As these larger cohorts complete their studies, they will join the workforce to support local authority educational psychology services, including contributing to EHC plan assessments.Local authority caseworkers play a vital role in supporting families to navigate the system and ensuring they have good experiences, including through the EHC plan process. To build capacity, the department is providing legal training for local authority caseworkers this year and will consider new guidance to deliver a responsive and supportive casework service.The department is committed to a joint Department for Education and Department of Health and Social Care approach to SEND workforce planning. The departments aim to complete this by 2025. This will build on the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan published in June 2023 which sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years.To support the supply of more speech and language therapists and occupational therapists to the NHS, since September 2020 all eligible undergraduate and postgraduate degree students have been able to apply for a non-repayable training grant of a minimum of £5,000 per academic year, with further financial support available for childcare, accommodation, and travel costs.

Special Educational Needs

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help support children with additional needs.

David Johnston: In the special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision (AP) Improvement Plan, published in March 2023, the department set out plans to build a consistent national SEND and AP system which parents and carers can trust, easily navigate, and have confidence in, wherever they live in the country. The foundation for the new nationally consistent SEND and AP system will be new evidenced based National Standards for early and accurate identification of need, and timely access to support to meet those needs. The standards will include clarifying the types of support that should be available in mainstream settings and who is responsible for securing the support. This will help families, practitioners and providers understand what support every child or young person should be receiving from early years through to further education, no matter where they live or what their needs are. By the end of 2025, the department will publish a significant proportion of the National Standards. New local SEND and AP partnerships will support this work by bringing together Education, Health and Care partners with local government to produce evidence-based Local Area Inclusion Plans setting out how to meet the needs of children and young people with SEND and in AP in the local area, in line with National Standards. The department is testing and refining reforms through our Change Programme to collect evidence about what works for children and young people with SEND and their families at a local level. The department is working with 32 local authorities and their local areas in each of the nine regions.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of funding for Education, Health and Care Plans.

David Johnston: In 2024/25, high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs is increasing by £440 million, compared to this financial year 2023/24. This will bring total high needs funding to over £10.5 billion next year, an increase of over 60% from the 2019/20 allocations. Of that total, City of York Council is due to receive a high needs allocation of £28.5 million through their 2024/25 dedicated schools grant, which is a cumulative increase of 27% per head over the three years from 2021/22.The significant increases to high needs funding over recent years have helped to support local authorities and schools with the costs of supporting children and young people with an Education, Health and Care plan.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what estimate he has made of the level of humanitarian aid that will be delivered through the US temporary port into Gaza; and how much the UK plans to contribute to the delivery of that aid.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to ensure that aid delivered to the US temporary port into Gaza reaches the intended destination.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Along with Cyprus, the US, UAE and others, the UK will help deliver humanitarian aid by sea to a new temporary US military pier in Gaza, via a maritime corridor from Cyprus. We have already shown that this is possible - in January, we worked with our Cypriot partners to pre-screen 87 tonnes of aid that was delivered by Royal Navy ship RFA Lyme Bay to the Egyptian Red Cross for the people of Gaza.The corridor cannot substitute for land crossings and we continue to urge Israel to open more land crossings and allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it.We also continue to call on Israel to fully open Ashdod Port for aid delivery.

Gaza: Humanitarian Pauses

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to help support international negotiations to achieve (a) an immediate ceasefire and (b) the unimpeded entry of aid into Gaza.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent progress his Department has made towards achieving an immediate stop to the fighting in Israel and Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We want the fighting to stop now. We are calling for an immediate pause to get aid in and hostages out, then progress towards a sustainable, permanent ceasefire, without a return to destruction, fighting and loss of life.The vital elements for a lasting peace include: the release of all hostages; the formation of a new Palestinian Government for the West Bank and Gaza, accompanied by an international support package; removing Hamas's capacity to launch attacks against Israel; Hamas no longer being in charge of Gaza; and a political horizon which provides a credible and irreversible pathway towards a two-state solution.The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have reiterated these messages in their contacts with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other senior Israeli political leaders, as well as leaders in Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in recent weeks.The UK and our partners are stepping up our efforts to get aid in as quickly as possible by land, sea and air. We trebled our aid commitment this financial year and we are doing everything we can to get more aid in and open more crossings.

China: India

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the relationship between India and China.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The UK has an independent relationship with both India and China. Relations between these two countries are a matter for their governments to progress and manage through peaceful means. The UK has no direct role.

Gaza: Humanitarian Pauses

Mr Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Hamas's engagement with discussions on a potential humanitarian pause in the conflict in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We will not provide a running commentary on negotiations, but the UK is using all diplomatic channels to support the international effort being facilitated through Egypt, Qatar and the US.

West Bank: Terrorism

Mr Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the activity of Iran-backed terror groups in the West Bank.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We discuss all aspects of the current conflict with the Government of Israel.The Foreign Secretary has also raised Iran's long-term support for proscribed groups directly with the Iranian Foreign Minister on 17 January and the UK's new sanctions regime designed to target Iran and its proxies' hostile activity came into force on 14 December. Iran must use its influence to curb attacks and deescalate regional tensions.

West Bank: Education and Health Services

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people living in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of the West Bank have access to (a) healthcare, (b) education and (c) aid.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: As the occupying power in the West Bank, the Government is clear that Israel has a responsibility to ensure that humanitarian aid including food, water and shelter is available to the Palestinian people. The Government continues to stress these points in engagements with Israeli counterparts and partners. The UK also provides support to the West Bank through UK funding for programmes which work in all parts of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, operating flexibly between different areas in order to have the most impact.

Gaza: Ports

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to support the US in constructing a second temporary pier in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Along with Cyprus, the US, UAE and others, the UK will help deliver humanitarian aid by sea to a new temporary US military pier in Gaza, via a maritime corridor from Cyprus. We have already shown that this is possible - in January, we worked with our Cypriot partners to pre-screen 87 tonnes of aid that was delivered by Royal Navy ship RFA Lyme Bay to the Egyptian Red Cross for the people of Gaza.We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it. We also continue to call on Israel to fully open Ashdod Port for aid delivery.

Israel and Palestinians: Foreign Relations

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many meetings he has had with the (a) Israeli and (b) Palestinian ambassador (i) since 7 October 2023 and (ii) in the last month.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The former Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon James Cleverly MP, held a meeting with hostage families on 24 October 2023, which was also attended by Israel Ambassador Tzipi Hotovely. The current Foreign Secretary co-hosted with Ambassador Hotovely the Holocaust Memorial Day reception at the FCDO on 23 January 2024. The Minister of State, Lord Ahmad, met the Palestine Ambassador and Head of the Palestine Mission, Dr Husam Zomlot, 27 February and the Government intends to meet with the Israel Ambassador in the coming weeks.

West Bank: Detainees

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has held with his counterpart in the Israeli government on the number of Palestinian detentions in the West Bank since 7 October 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government is clear that administrative detention should only be used when it is justified in accordance with international law. Those under detention should either be charged or released. The UK is committed to working with Israel to secure improvements in its detention practices and repeatedly calls on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law. This has been repeatedly raised with Israeli counterparts, including the during the Attorney General's visit to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in February.

Gaza: Israel

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Minister of State's oral contribution of 12 March 2024, Official Report, columns 133-34, what assessment he has made of Israel's observation of its requirements under Articles (a) 16, (b) 17 and (c) 18 of Geneva Convention (IV).

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with refence to the Minister of State's oral contributions of 12 March 2024, Official Report, columns 135 and 148, what assessment he has made of Israel's observation of its obligations under Article 23 of Geneva Convention (IV).

Mr Andrew Mitchell: It is our position that Israel retains obligations as the Occupying Power in Gaza. Although after 2005 there was no permanent physical Israeli presence in Gaza, given the significant control Israel had over Gaza's borders, airspace and territorial waters, Israel retained obligations as an occupying power under the Fourth Geneva Convention. In situations of occupation, international humanitarian law expressly requires the occupier, to the fullest extent of the means available to it, to ensure the food and medical supplies of the population of the occupied territory. We expect Israel to fulfil its obligations and for all parties to adhere to international humanitarian law.

Gaza: Israel

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Minister of State's oral contribution of 12 March 2024, Official Report, columns 133-34, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the embedding of lawyers in the Israeli Defence Forces command on those forces' acceptance and honouring of international humanitarian law during the conflict in Gaza.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We have previously assessed that Israel is committed and capable of complying with International Humanitarian Law. We regularly review our assessment.

Gaza: Humanitarian Aid

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an estimate of the average daily number of (a) aid trucks and (b) tonnes of aid that entered Gaza in each of the last 12 months.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an estimate of the average daily number of (a) aid trucks and (b) tonnes of aid that were needed to meet demand for aid in Gaza in each of the last 12 months.

Beth Winter: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the difference between the average daily number of (a) aid trucks and (b) tonnes of aid that entered Gaza and the level of demand for that aid since October 2023.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: There were 500 trucks entering Gaza per day before the conflict, now that number is around 150. There was a 31 per cent decrease in the average number of trucks entering Gaza daily between January (140 trucks) and February (97 trucks). The daily average for the first part of March has been around 165 trucks a day, although there is significant fluctuation from day to day.We have been clear that Israel must take action to allow more aid into Gaza. We want to see a scale up of the Jordan corridor, with a streamlined screening and delivery process, the opening of a crossing in northern Gaza (Karni, Erez or a new crossing point), Ashdod Port fully opened for aid delivery and increased screening capacity at Kerem Shalom and Nitzana to seven days a week and extended hours.

UNRWA

Michael Shanks: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether the contents of the interim report of the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services' review of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will be shared with Parliament.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has released an interim report to the UN Secretary-General.We are pressing Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report on the investigation into UNRWA's neutrality. The UN has said that her final report will be made public.

Disinformation and Hate Crime

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if his Department will publish the recent work of the CSSF Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Government will routinely publish the programme summaries and annual review summaries of Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF) programmes on gov.uk. Since its launch in 2022, the 'Hate Speech and Disinformation Programme' in Pakistan has trained university students on digital literacy; trained government officers to identify and tackle hateful narratives; and supported efforts to counter disinformation in the electoral process. The programme summary is due to be published by Summer 2024.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Remote Working

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many and what proportion of staff in his Department work from home.

David Rutley: Hybrid working is available to staff as a means of working across the FCDO, where business needs and roles allow. This means that staff can work from home for up to 40 percent of their contracted hours. The FCDO does not keep a central record of the number of our staff working from home. These arrangements are monitored and reviewed regularly. There are many staff who are unable to work from home due to the nature of their role.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Crime

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, how many crimes have been reported on the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last five years.

David Rutley: The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is constitutionally distinct and separate from the UK and is administered by the BIOT Administration. The FCDO does not hold a record of how many crimes have been reported on the BIOT in each of the last five years.

Haiti: Politics and Government

Anna McMorrin: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his Haitian counterparts on the security situation in that country.

David Rutley: The UK is committed to supporting a Haitian-led political solution to the escalating violence in the country, and commends the efforts of Caribbean partners to work towards a return to security and stability. I [Minister Rutley] attended the Caribbean Heads of Government meeting (CARICOM) in Guyana on 26 February and heard their concerns on the security situation in Haiti.We are also increasing support for the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) to secure their borders in response to worsening violence in neighbouring Haiti.

Russia: Sanctions

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to close loopholes in the sanctions regime against the Russian Federation.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We continue to use sanctions to bear down on Russia's illegal war in Ukraine. Last month, a new package of over 50 UK designations targeted Russia's efforts to circumvent sanctions on its war machine and major revenue sources. Earlier this month, we delivered new legislation to bring about a coordinated ban on Russian diamond exports. With partners, we have strengthened the Oil Price Cap (OPC) mechanism and added new items to the Common High Priority (CHP) list. We are preparing to bolster our existing powers to target malign Russian shipping activity. We continue to strengthen sanctions enforcement, with the creation of the Office for Trade Sanctions Implementation (OTSI) and a new unit within the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) to licence and enforce the OPC.

Jimmy Lai

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he is taking steps to ensure that Jimmy Lai receives regular consular access.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Ministers and officials continue to raise Mr Jimmy Lai's case at the highest levels with the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities and have consistently requested consular access which has been denied by the Hong Kong prison authorities. The Foreign Secretary reiterated his call for Mr Lai's release during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Munich Security Conference on the 16 February.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps the Government is taking to help (a) expand and (b) support existing marine protected areas across the UK Overseas Territories.

David Rutley: The UK Overseas Territories (OTs) are an integral and richly biodiverse part of the British family. Since 2016, the Government has worked to assist the OTs with managing their Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and sustainable management frameworks through the FCDO's Blue Belt Programme, which provides support, training and technical expertise to protect species and habitats within their waters. The Programme exemplifies what we can achieve in partnership with the OTs, supports the protection of over 4.4 million square kilometres of ocean, and also provides remote surveillance which ensures vessel and fishing activity within these MPAs remains compliant.

British Overseas Territories: Marine Protected Areas

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to (a) expand, (b) strengthen and (c) protect Marine Protected Areas in the UK's Overseas Territories.

David Rutley: Each UK Government department has a nominated Minster with responsibility for the Overseas Territories (OTs). The Government engages on marine protection with the OTs through the Blue Belt programme which is an FCDO funded initiative delivered in close collaboration with DEFRA. The programme has supported the OTs since 2016 with the creation, protection and enforcement of their Marine Protected Areas, protecting over 4.4 million square kilometres of ocean habitats and species.

El Salvador: Politics and Government

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussions he has had with his El Salvadorean counterpart on the 30-day state of emergency in that country; and what reports he has received on the potential impact of the state of emergency on (a) women and girls (i) in rural areas and (ii) generally and (b) other vulnerable groups.

David Rutley: Since the state of emergency was declared in March 2022, UK officials have continued to encourage the authorities in El Salvador to uphold international human rights standards and constitutional protections in respect of all groups, including women and girls. I [Minister Rutley] have discussed the security situation in El Salvador with counterparts including the Vice President and the Foreign Minister and have underlined the importance of a balance between the reduction of violent crime and the continued protection of human rights. Officials continue to engage with civil society to assess the wider impact of the state of emergency.

British Overseas Territories and Caribbean: Digital Technology

Damian Collins: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assistance has been provided for the development of digital infrastructure in (a) the British Overseas Territories and (b) Caribbean Commonwealth countries since 2014.

David Rutley: Whilst digital infrastructure is a mostly devolved matter, the UK provides significant support to the four Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligible Territories. The FCDO-funded capital investment programme in Montserrat recently delivered a sub-sea fibre cable and in St Helena we are supporting improvements in the local telecommunications infrastructure.The UK has not provided support for digital infrastructure in the Caribbean through our bilateral ODA. However, we continue to support the development of digital infrastructure through our shareholding in multilateral agencies including the World Bank, Inter-American and Caribbean Development Banks.

El Salvador: Abortion

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what discussion he has had with his El Salvadorean counterpart on implementation of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights judgment on Manuela v El Salvador on access to safe abortion.

David Rutley: As outlined in the Women and Girls Strategy, the UK supports women's comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights globally, including access to safe abortion. We continue to recommend in multilateral settings that El Salvador should review laws criminalising the use of abortion, ensure access to sexual and reproductive health services and support for all women and girls, and guarantee women are not criminally prosecuted for suffering a miscarriage.

Ukraine: International Assistance

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with his counterpart in the US on (a) diplomatic, (b) humanitarian and (c) military support for Ukraine.

Leo Docherty: We are in constant contact with our international partners to ensure Ukraine receives the diplomatic, military and humanitarian support it needs. The Foreign Secretary held talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to reaffirm international cooperation and support for Ukraine during his visit to Washington on 6-7 December last year and spoke again most recently on 7 March. The Foreign Secretary also set out the high level of UK ambition at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January and at the Munich Security Conference in February. We continue to work with US counterparts to deepen and strengthen our mutual priorities.

Developing Countries: Female Genital Mutilation

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, to which (a) charities and (b) other organisations his Department has allocated funding to help tackle FGM in the last five years.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria his Department uses to assess the effectiveness of programs working on eradicating FGM that his Department (a) has awarded and (b) plans to award funds to.

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what funding from the public purse was provided to grassroots organisations working to eradicate FGM in their communities in each of the last five years.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We work with a range of organisations in our efforts to tackle Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This includes specialist FGM charities, academic institutions, private sector organisations, and grassroots organisations.The UK has a proud record of supporting the Africa-Led Movement to End FGM. We are investing £35 million between 2019-2027 to support grassroots African organisations and activists leading change from within their communities through small grant funding. The UK also supports grassroots organisations tackling FGM through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women and the Equality Fund. We do not hold data on what proportion of FCDO spend has gone to grassroots organisations for activities that specifically address FGM.In 2022, £75.1 million of UK bilateral Official Development Assistance was spent on tackling violence against women and girls. Results show that between April 2021 and March 2023 our work on gender-based violence, including FGM, reached 4.2 million people.All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually. We have also developed new tools to track rates of FGM and changes in attitudes and are using these to measure the effectiveness of our FGM programmes.

Egypt: Gaza

Nadia Whittome: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to his answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 16922 on Egypt: Gaza, if he will make representations to his Egyptian counterparts on (a) an investigation into the alleged demand for large sums of money from Palestinians seeking to exit Gaza and (b) an immediate end to any system in place that allows for this practice.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We continue to monitor the situation. We maintain a close dialogue with Egypt on a range of issues relating to the conflict in Gaza.We also continue to work with the Israeli and Egyptian authorities to facilitate British Nationals and eligible dependents to leave Gaza.

UNRWA: Finance

Michael Shanks: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has had recent discussions with his (a) Swedish and (b) Canadian counterpart on the decision of those countries to resume funding for UNRWA.

Michael Shanks: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, when he plans to decide whether to reinstate funding for UNRWA.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are appalled by allegations that UNRWA staff were involved in the 7 October attack against Israel, a heinous act of terrorism that the UK Government has repeatedly condemned.We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has released an interim report to the UN Secretary-General. We are pressing Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report on the investigation into UNRWA's neutrality.We are working with allies, including Sweden and Canada, to try and bring this situation to a rapid conclusion, not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza, and the wider region.We want UNRWA to give detailed undertakings about changes in personnel, policy and precedents to ensure this can never happen again.Any future funding decisions will be taken after UNRWA's review has concluded.

UNRWA: Hamas

Michael Shanks: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) UN Office of Internal Oversight and (b) Catherine Colonna of the independent Review Group appointed by the UN Secretary-General on when the rapid interim report will be made available.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware that the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services has released an interim report to the UN Secretary-General. We are pressing Catherine Colonna to produce a rapid interim report on the investigation into UNRWA's neutrality.We are working with allies to try to bring this situation to a rapid conclusion not least because UNRWA have a vital role to play in providing aid and services in Gaza and the wider region.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Publications

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether any officials in his Department are formally tasked with monitoring publications by (a) Declassified UK and (b) other online media organisations.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: Media monitoring is one of the Media Team's responsibilities within the FCDO Communications Directorate.

Israel: Hamas

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16084 on L3Harris: Export Controls, what the nature of his Department's assessments are of Israel's (a) capability and (b) commitment to International Humanitarian Law.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We have previously assessed that Israel is committed and capable of complying with International Humanitarian Law. We regularly review our assessment.

Kenya: Female Genital Mutilation

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what criteria his Department uses to determine whether to allocate funding to organisations to help tackle FGM in Kenya.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK is investing £35 million in the second phase of the Africa-Led Movement (ALM) to end female genital mutilation (FGM) that is targeting support to grassroots African organisations leading change from within their communities, including in Kenya. The UK recognises the importance of working with specialist organisations, which is why the ALM Programme has established a grassroots grants mechanism through which smaller community-based organisations can receive funding and capacity development to lead sustainable change within communities. All FCDO programmes have agreed criteria for results and effectiveness against which they are measured annually.

Hamas: UNRWA

Alan Brown: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, pursuant to the Answer of 1 March 2024 to Question 15935 on Hamas: UNRWA and with reference to his oral contribution of 27 February 2024 on Israel and Gaza, Official Report, column 155, what evidence his Department received from Israel on the allegations against the UN Relief and Works Agency; and if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of Israel's cooperation with UN investigations into those allegations.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are appalled by allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff were involved in the heinous 7 October attack against Israel.We have urged Israel to cooperate fully with these investigations.

UNRWA: Staff

Dan Carden: To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) statement entitled, At least one UNRWA staff killed when Israeli Forces hit UNRWA centre used for food and lifesaving supplies, published on 13 March 2024.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are aware of this statement.The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities.Israel must limit its operations to military targets and avoid harming civilians and destroying homes. All parties must act within International Humanitarian Law.The safety of humanitarian personnel and healthcare workers in Gaza is critical to enable aid to reach those who need it most. Medics and aid agencies must be able to operate freely and reach people in need. We cannot separate this tragedy from the inadequate level of aid supplies. Israel must take action to allow more aid into Gaza, including:an immediate humanitarian pauseincreased capacity for aid distribution inside Gazaincreased humanitarian access through land and maritime routesexpanding the types of humanitarian assistance allowed into Gaza, such as shelter and items critical for infrastructure repairand, a resumption of electricity, water and telecommunications.The Foreign Secretary and Prime Minister have underlined the need for Israel to ensure effective deconfliction in Gaza, and to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of medical personnel and facilities. We continue to call for International Humanitarian Law to be respected and civilians to be protected. Too many civilians have been killed. The Foreign Secretary raised the above issues with Israeli Minister Benny Gantz on 6 March.

Women and Equalities

Question

Neale Hanvey: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what recent discussions she has had with Cabinet colleagues on Government support for the health of gay, lesbian and bisexual young people.

Maria Caulfield: This Government is committed to improving the health and well-being of young people. We recognise that gay, lesbian and bisexual young people often face specific challenges.We have ended the ban on blood donations from sexually active gay men, and are eliminating barriers for same sex couples to access IVF.Spend for children and young people’s mental health services has increased from £841 million in 2019/20 to just over £1 billion in 2022/23.And in 2021, we published our HIV Action Plan which sets our commitment to ending all new HIV transmissions, AIDS and HIV-related deaths within England by 2030.

Question

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that people with neurodivergent conditions receive appropriate and accessible support when using public services.

Maria Caulfield: The government are implementing a National Autism Strategy and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan.Additionally, the Department of Health and Social Care are rolling out the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training where part one has been completed by over 1.4 million people.

Maternal Mortality

Rosie Duffield: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to help reduce maternal mortality.

Maria Caulfield: At the Spring Budget, the Government announced £35m over the next three years to improve maternity safety across England.This is in addition to our three-year maternity plan, backed by £186m per year from April. Through this, we have introduced 14 maternal medicine networks to provide specialist advice to pregnant women, and we expect all CSs to have a Maternal Mental Health Service by the end of the month.

Castes

Bob Blackman: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to exclude caste as a protected characteristic from the Equality Act 2010.

Stuart Andrew: The government’s position remains as stated by the then Minister for Women and Equalities, the member for Portsmouth North, in her statement to Parliament on 23 July 2018.We do not intend to make an order determining caste to be an aspect of ‘race’ for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.We will repeal the statutory duty to make such an order once a suitable legislative vehicle becomes available.

Education: Assessments

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she is taking with the Secretary of State for Education to help close the gap in exam results between boys and girls.

Damian Hinds: Raising attainment for all pupils, no matter their gender or background is at the heart of this government’s agenda, and we are committed to providing a world-class education system for all.The latest data show that, while girls continue to outperform boys across most headline measures, the gender gap between boys and girls is narrowing.At KS2 in 2022/23, the gender gap between boys and girls at the expected standard in reading, writing and maths has decreased since 2021/22 and is the lowest it has been since 2016/17. KS4 results show the gender gap has narrowed across all headline measures when comparing 2022/23 with both 2018/19 and 2021/22.The Schools White Paper (March 2022) was clear about the direction of travel needed to improve attainment. It set out our long-term vision for a school system that helps every child to fulfil their potential by ensuring that they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time – founded on achieving world-class literacy and numeracy.This is supported by significant investment in education. Next year, including the recently announced funding for pension contributions, overall school funding is increasing by £2.9 billion compared to 2023-24, taking the total to £60.7 billion in 2024-25 – the highest ever level in real terms per pupil. This will help schools in their vital work to close attainment gaps, and level up educational opportunities.Alongside this, the department takes a range of steps to improve attainment and outcomes for all pupils, including improving the quality of teaching and curriculum resources, strengthening the school system, increasing attendance, and providing targeted support where needed.We know that disadvantaged pupils and those with additional needs are more likely to fall behind and need extra support to reach their full potential. This is why we provide additional funding as part of schools’ overall funding to support disadvantaged pupils through the pupil premium, which will rise to over £2.9 billion in 2024-25, an increase of £80 million from 2023-24.Programmes such as Free School Meals that support over 2 million children, the Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF), and support for up to 2,700 breakfast clubs also support disadvantaged pupils.We also continue to collaborate with other government departments to address out-of-school factors that we know have a significant impact on attainment outcomes.

Department for Business and Trade

Horizon IT System

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how much and what proportion of the funding for Post Office redress schemes has been allocated to fund the Group Litigation Order scheme.

Kevin Hollinrake: There is no fixed allocation of funding for Horizon scandal redress payments. Each redress claim is considered on its merits and the Government is committed to ensuring all necessary funding is available to pay all claims as soon as they are agreed.

Department for Business and Trade: Supply Estimates

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 11 March 2024 to Question 16678 on Department for Business and Trade: Supply Estimates, for what reason she has not provided the explanatory memorandum on her Department's supplementary estimates to the Business and Trade Committee; and when she plans to do so.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Department for Business and Trade’s Supplementary Estimates Explanatory Memorandum was sent to the chair of the Business and Trade Committee on Friday 15th March 2024.

Boots: Closures

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with Boots on the potential impact of its planned store closures.

Kevin Hollinrake: I recognise the retail sector is going through a difficult transition as it responds to market pressures from a range of factors including changing consumer expectations and behaviour towards online shopping. The Department has regular, ongoing discussions with Boots and a number of retail businesses on a range of subjects.As you will be aware, the Government has no role in the strategic direction or management of private businesses.

Arms Trade: Export Controls

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the Export Control Joint Unit reviews urgent trade sanctions licence applications in a timely manner.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: In making decisions on whether to grant a licence to permit something otherwise prohibited by sanctions legislation & regulations, the Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU), comprised of subject matter experts and officials in the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Ministry of Defence, acts on behalf of the Secretary of State. ECJU is obligated to consider applications on a case-by-case basis, determining whether granting a licence would be consistent with the stated purposes of the sanctions regime, licensing grounds, and United Nations or international law obligations. When assessing applications ECJU also consults and considers views from a range of other government departments.

Arms Trade: Israel

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to paragraphs 28 and 29 of the summary grounds of the Secretary of State provided in the High Court case between the King (on the application of Al-Haq) v the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, AC-2023-LON-003634, whether any of the arms export licences identified in the Change in Circumstances review have been revoked since January 2024.

Greg Hands: The Government is monitoring the situation in Israel and Gaza very closely.The Government can and does respond quickly and flexibly to changing international circumstances. All licences are kept under careful and continual review and are able to be amended, suspended, refused or revoked as circumstances require.HM Government publishes data on export licensing decisions on a quarterly basis in the Official Statistics, including data on outcome, end user destination, overall value, type (e.g. military, other) and a summary of the items covered by these licences. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/strategic-export-controls-licensing-data.

Conditions of Employment: Freedom of Speech

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps she is taking to ensure that the (a) employment rights and (b) freedom of speech of people of faith are protected (i) in the workplace and (ii) during the recruitment process.

Kevin Hollinrake: People of faith are protected by the existing legal framework. They have the same employment rights and protections as anyone else, including during the recruitment process. Where they feel those rights have not been respected, they can contact Acas or EASS (Equality Advisory and Support Service) for advice, and ultimately, seek redress through an employment tribunal.In addition, the Equality Act 2010 provides protection from religious discrimination to anyone with a religious belief as well as to those who lack a religion or belief. The definition of a religion or belief in these provisions is deliberately broad and includes those religions widely recognised in the UK, as well as denominations or sects within a religion such as Catholics or Protestants within Christianity.

Department for Transport

Alstom: Derby

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with Alstom on their factory in Derby.

Huw Merriman: The Secretary of State and I have held frequent discussions with Alstom UK’s senior management to help them find a sustainable long-term solution for the Derby site. Rail manufacturing plays an important role in growing the UK economy and there is a strong pipeline of future orders for UK rail manufacturers.

East Midlands Railway: Standards

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many and what proportion of East Midlands Railways trains from (a) Peterborough to Spalding and (b) Spalding to Peterborough were (i) cancelled and (ii) delayed by more than 30 minutes in 2023.

Huw Merriman: Following a thorough search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the specific information you requested is not held by this Department.The Office of Rail and Road publish statistics on passenger rail punctuality and reliability broken down by Train Operating Company. However, these statistics are not available for specific train services.

Railways: Costs

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of delays to planned rail reforms.

Huw Merriman: The Department has actively managed rail reform costs in response to delays to original plans. A recent National Audit Office report noted that the Department estimates it will spend £0.4bn on rail reform up to the end of March 2024, compared to initial planned spending of £1.2bn.

High Speed 2 Line: Staffordshire

Jack Brereton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish the value engineering report for the design of the proposed Handsacre Junction of HS2 from 2018.

Huw Merriman: The Department does not hold and is not aware of a value engineering report of the proposed HS2 Handsacre Junction from 2018.

Buses: Electric Vehicles

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will set a deadline for all buses to be electrified.

Guy Opperman: In the National Bus Strategy, Government committed to setting a legal end date for the sale of new, non–zero emission buses, and to set an expectation for when the entire fleet should be zero emission. In 2022, the Department held a public consultation on end of sales dates between 2025 and 2032 to gather views and inform a decision. We will make an announcement shortly. In this Parliament, we have allocated over £460m of dedicated funding for Zero Emission Buses in England (outside London).

Bus Services

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of changes in the level of bus services on (a) economic inequality and (b) old people.

Guy Opperman: The Department considers the needs of all transport users when making policy decisions and recognises how important local bus services are to keeping people and communities connected. The Government has provided unprecedented levels of funding in recent years to support and improve bus services, having announced more than £4.5 billion since 2020. This includes the £300 million we are currently providing to local authorities and bus operators to support and improve bus services until April 2025. In addition, the Department also makes nearly £260 million available every year through the Bus Service Operators Grant to help run services that might otherwise be unprofitable and could lead to cancellation. The Government also supports council spending of around £1 billion annually to provide free off-peak bus travel in England to those who have reached the state pension age and those with eligible disabilities. This ensures they can access vital services, stay active and avoid isolation. Furthermore, the Department is providing nearly £600 million of funding to cap single bus fares in England outside London at £2 until the end of 2024.  The Government is also investing significantly to drive improvements to bus services, including over £2 billion to help local authorities to deliver their Bus Service Improvement Plans. In 2022 the Department commissioned a three-year process, impact and value for money evaluation of Local Transport Authorities who have received funding from the Department. This work will report on any variations in impacts by different age groups using a range of methods including survey findings and bus patronage data where available. An interim report is expected to be published in 2024 with a final report due in 2025.

Rolling Stock: Standards

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether there is any rolling stock in use that does not meet standards for (a) air quality and (b) workforce exposure limits set by the Office of Rail and Road.

Huw Merriman: The Government is committed to ensuring that the railway maintains the highest air quality standards to safeguard the health and well-being of passengers and rail staff. That is why the Department for Transport funded two air quality monitoring studies conducted by the Rail Safety and Standards Board on 13 different types of passenger train. These studies found that the air quality on rail services is within the legal Workplace Exposure Limits (WELs), approved by the Health and Safety Executive and enforced by the Office of Rail and Road. The average age of rolling stock in Great Britain is 16.7 years, with a typical asset life of around 35 years. New diesel engines are regulated by non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) standards which came into effect for rail in 2006. These establish maximum emission levels for several air pollutants, including nitrous oxide and particulate matter. Therefore, there are engines in operation whose manufacture predates the latest air pollutant emission standards for railway diesel engines. As fleets are upgraded and replaced, they will comply with the latest emissions standards. By 2040, DfT has an ambition to phase-out diesel-only trains from the rail network.

Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with the (a) Directors of Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway and (b) Chief Executive of the Office of Rail and Road on the inclusion of Wellington in Shropshire in future services operated by Wrexham, Shropshire & Midlands Railway.

Huw Merriman: As part of the Industry Consultation, conducted by Network Rail, the Department for Transport reviewed the open access application from Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway and was supportive in principle of this application. Department for Transport officials have engaged with Directors at Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway and will continue to do so. Passenger open access operators are train operators that run services without contractual arrangements or direct support from Government. Decisions on access to the rail network are a matter for the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in its role as independent regulator for the rail industry and the Department for Transport is unable to direct the ORR in its decision making. Should Wrexham, Shropshire and Midlands Railway wish to include Wellington in Shropshire in future open access proposals they will need to apply to the ORR in the usual manner.

Avanti West Coast: Standards

Mr David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department is taking steps with Avanti West Coast to improve the standard of customer service provided by that company.

Huw Merriman: The Department meets with Avanti West Coast regularly to discuss its performance, across all areas including Customer Experience, and where improvement is required. Over the next few months Avanti West Coast is working to introduce a brand-new fleet of electric and bi-mode Hitachi trains offering more space and a quieter journey for passengers along the North Wales mainline.

Heathrow Airport: Construction

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of Heathrow Airport on expansion of the airport.

Anthony Browne: The Secretary of State has had no recent discussion with Heathrow Airport Ltd on proposals to expand the airport.

Airspace

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which airlines are banned from entering United Kingdom airspace.

Anthony Browne: The safety of aviation and the travelling public is a priority for the UK government.The UK Air Safety List, which came into force in January 2021, comprises of known states and air carriers that have failed to demonstrate that they meet relevant, internationally agreed safety standards. They are therefore banned from operating into, out of or within the UK.The Air Safety List is published online on a gov.uk website and is available for the public to view. It ensures that UK citizens continue to be protected and informed wherever they are in the world, as well as acts as a deterrent to poor safety performance of air carriers and States.

Aviation: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of fare discounts for assistants accompanying disabled airline passengers.

Anthony Browne: The government strongly believes that everyone should have equal access to air travel. While there is no legal requirement for airlines to offer free or discounted seats to an accompanying person, it is the CAA's view that it is best practice for airlines to do so where they require a disabled or less mobile passenger to travel with an accompanying person for safety reasons.

Electric Vehicles: Carbon Emissions

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with representatives of the electric car manufacturing industry on (a) incentives and (b) infrastructure development to support the decarbonisation of commercial fleets.

Anthony Browne: DfT Ministers have regular engagement with individual automotive manufacturers and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), to discuss the Government’s plans to reduce potential barriers to the adoption of zero emission vehicles. The Government recognises the challenge of decarbonising car fleets, and the charging requirements of fleets. It has invested significant funding in the rollout of charging infrastructure, including £381m through the Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund and the £70m Rapid Charging Fund pilot. The Plug-in Van Grant also remains in place to support the uptake of vans, which can be used to support commercial fleets.

Ministry of Defence

Naval Ships Delivery Group: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget was for the Naval Ships Delivery Group in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The Naval Ships Delivery Group was formed in 2020 as a part of the wider Ship Acquisition Directorate and has no separate centrally recorded budget. For these reasons the requested information is not held for any year prior to 2020, while for that and subsequent years it could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Ministry of Defence: Expenditure

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department has spent on (a) soldier training and (b) special projects in each financial year since 2019-20.

James Cartlidge: The Soldier Training and Special Projects (STSP) delivery team total spend on equipment by financial year is as follows: FYSTSP total spend2019-20£230.925 million2020-21£259.736 million2021-22£260.633 million2022-23£474.914 million The STSP total spend on operating costs by financial year is as follows: FYSTSP total spend2019-20£21.185 million2020-21£22.537 million2021-22£23.158 million2022-23£18.963 million STSP is a specific project team in DE&S and the figures above represent the total spend of that team. The figures do not represent the total spend on all soldier training or special projects across Defence which would not be held centrally and would not be answerable without a disproportionate cost. Financial year 2023-24 spend is not included as costs have not yet been finalised.

Submarines: Costs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on submarines in each financial year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The table below shows the values for the procurement of equipment for submarines, as well as equipment support costs for submarines in each complete financial year since 2019. FINANCIAL YEAR (FY)SUBMARINES £millionSUPPORT COSTS FOR BOTH SURFACE AND SUBMARINE FLEETS - £millionTOTAL - £millionFY2019-2052023543FY2020-2155232584FY2021-2258836624FY2022-2359447641GRAND TOTAL2,2551382,393 In addition to the £2.2 billion spend specific to submarines (as shown in column two), the third column in the table shows expenditure on common contracts that support both the surface and submarine fleets. These figures do not include the cost of operating the platforms, propulsion costs, missiles and capabilities in support of ships and submarines.

Navy: Defence Equipment

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on future maritime platforms in each financial year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on naval ship support in each financial year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on maritime combat systems in each financial year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on maritime systems support in each financial year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on boats in each financial year since 2019.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of spending on (a) salvage and (b) marine operations in each financial year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: The information requested for each Defence Equipment & Support team is provided in the table below.Financial YearNaval Ships Support £millionMaritime Combat Systems £millionMaritime Systems Support £millionBoats £millionSalvage and Marine Operations £million2018-19£573.5£300.9£201.3£52.8£3.72019-20£546£328.5£205.4£38.2£92020-21£617£316.6£201.6£50.9£11.72021-22£619.6£294.3£183.8£91.2£31.52022-23£734.8£300.4£192.9£83.6£48.12023-24£609.4£320£152.8£71.4£25.8 Figures for financial year 2023-24 are to date. The Future Maritime Platforms team forms part of the wider Ship Acquisition Directorate and has no separately identified budget. Separately identifiable operating costs are no longer available for either the Boats team or the Salvage and Marine Operations team in financial years 2018-19 and 2019-20. The information presented in the table for these teams in those years consists of Equipment Plan expenditure only.

Ministry of Defence: Assets

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what monies his Department received from the sale of (a) assets, (b) land and (c) buildings in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: Income raised by the Department from the sale of surplus assets, buildings and land since 2019 is as follows: Financial YearAssets (£m)Land and Buildings  (£m)2019-20£104.1£87.82020-21£40.72£1052021-22£86£2162022-23£161.9£582023-24(to date) £82.65(to date) £187 Ministry of Defence systems do not record the information separately, the figures provided are the total gross receipt values.

Defence Nuclear Biological and Chemical Centre: Costs

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the cost to the public purse was of the Defence, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Centre in each year since 2019.

James Cartlidge: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the right hon. Member's Question. I will write to her when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Iron and Steel: Procurement

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has implemented processes to enable it to monitor where steel used for major projects is sourced from.

James Cartlidge: The Ministry of Defence is required to submit steel origin data to the Department for Business and Trade on an annual basis. The Department is also planning to introduce a new condition which will require suppliers delivering larger value contracts to provide detailed supply chain maps. This will allow us to identify and put in place the measures needed to protect the supply chains of our key programmes and to maintain the resilience of the UK’s industrial and technology base.

Armed Forces: Catering

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the average cost is of preparing and serving a meal for UK service personnel.

James Cartlidge: The average cost of preparing and serving a meal for UK Service personnel cannot be provided for commercial reasons; this information could prejudice future negotiations between Ministry of Defence and contractors.

Armed Forces: Equality

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what job titles are used for people with roles relating to diversity, equity and inclusion within the armed forces; and how many people have each job title.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is taking time to collate the required information to answer the hon. Member’s Question. I will write to him when the information is available, and a copy of this letter will be placed in the Library of The House.

Ajax Vehicles: Testing

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's publication entitled MOD common law compensation claims statistics 2022/23, published on 26 February 2024, how many and what proportion of settled compensation claims on noise-induced hearing loss were related to the Ajax project in each financial year since 2018-19.

James Cartlidge: None of the Ajax-related Noise-Induced Hearing Loss claims have yet settled.

Ukraine: Military Aid

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on joining Czechia's artillery ammunition purchasing initiative to help support Ukraine.

James Heappey: The Secretary of State regularly holds discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on the war in Ukraine and how we can continue to best support Ukraine going forward. As a NATO ally, we also engage directly with Czechia on matters of international security. The UK remains fully engaged with the international capability coalitions and numerous other partners to understand where further opportunities may exist to increase our support to Ukraine. To date the UK has provided over 300,000 artillery shells to Ukraine, and has committed to delivering tens of thousands more this financial year (FY), and a further investment of £245 million on artillery ammunition in FY 2024-25.

Ministry of Defence: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget for the Domain Commercial Officers in the (a) Air and (b) Ships teams at Defence Equipment and Support is in the (i) 2023-24 (ii) 2024-25 and (ii) 2025-26 financial year.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget for the Air Support Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26 financial year.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Combat Air Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Ships Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Land Equipment Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Weapons Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Helicopters Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Integrated Battlespace Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual budget for the Logistics Delivery Commercial Team at Defence Equipment and Support is for (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26.

James Cartlidge: The delivery of Defence Equipment and Support business requires a range of specialist skills embedded within delivery teams. Against an affordable demand signal from the delivery teams, Commercial function managers deploy commercial officers according to their expertise and business priorities. The number and grade of commercial officers will vary according to current demand and, as such, it would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold to provide this figure against any single team.

Ministry of Defence: Finance

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the budget for the International Relations Group at Defence Equipment and Support is in the (a) 2023-24, (b) 2024-25 and (c) 2025-26 financial year.

James Cartlidge: The figures presented in this table represent the projected annual operating expenditure budget for the International Relations Group (IRG). Financial YearTotal spend (million)2023-24£4.352024-25£4.43  It should be noted that the annual budget for 2024-25 is indicative and subject to change. Annual operating expenditure for 2025-26 has not been forecast. It should also be noted that, due to the Operating Model work currently underway in DE&S, the current team structure has changed significantly and as of 18 March 2024 has been renamed International & Industry Cooperation (IIC). We anticipate that the way that budgets are apportioned will also change.

Hybrid Warfare

Stephen Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to help improve the UK's (a) awareness of and (b) responses to hybrid threats.

James Heappey: State or hybrid threats prevent a real and evolving risk to the UK which can manifest in a wide range of forms. The activities of Ministry of Defence to counter state threats are fully integrated with HMG's overall approach, which is co-ordinated by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office. The Ministry of Defence is investing significant time, resources and personnel to improve our capacity and capability to respond. We are enhancing integration across Defence and wider Government, as well as with allies, partners, and industry to respond to these threats effectively. We will continue to improve our understanding of current and potential threats, learn and share lessons in combatting them, and identify areas for cooperation, deconfliction and burden-sharing.

Joint Exercises

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of service personnel from the (a) British Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force will participate in joint exercises in (i) 2024, (ii) 2025 and (iii) 2026.

James Heappey: It is estimated that 13,750 (18%) of the Army, 3936 (13.6%) of the Royal Navy and 4,025 (11.4%) of the RAF will participate in joint exercises in 2024*. It is not possible to provide the same for 2025 and 2026 as it is too early in the planning process. *Please note that some individuals may participate in more than one exercise and may therefore be counted more than once. This will impact the accuracy of the proportion figure.

Ministry of Justice

Administration of Justice

Wayne David: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2024 to Question 17822 on Administration of Justice, if he will publish the protected characteristic data for single justice procedure cases in 2023.

Mike Freer: Data on the protected characteristics of SJP users, under the descriptor of “online plea for the Single Justice Service”, can be found at: HMCTS Protected Characteristics Questionnaire - Data on Users of Reformed Services - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The published data covers SJP cases for May 2023 to July 2023 inclusive. The scope of this data collection is limited to cases dealt with via the Common Platform, which represents around 32% of SJP cases over this time period.An updated view of the protected characteristics questionnaire is likely to be published in Autumn 2024.

Legal Aid Scheme: Coventry

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help increase access to legal aid for immigration cases in Coventry.

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number and proportion of asylum seekers that have not had access to a local immigration and asylum legal aid provider in the last 12 months.

Taiwo Owatemi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of immigration and asylum legal aid provision on the success rate of asylum appeals in Coventry in the last 12 months.

Mike Freer: The commissioning and monitoring of civil legal aid services are done by Procurement Area rather than by individual town or city, with Procurement Areas differing for different categories of law. The commissioning standard is to have at least one immigration provider per Procurement Area. Coventry falls within the Midlands and East of England Procurement Area. There are currently 45 immigration and asylum providers operating out of 55 offices within this procurement area. Information about number of legal aid offices undertaking work, broken down by region, legal aid scheme and category of law are published as part of the Legal Aid Agency (LAA)’s official statistics [see tables 9.1-9.8].The LAA recently tendered for new contracts that will start on 1 September 2024 and is in the process of assessing the bids. There will also be a further tender opportunity commencing on 18 March. These procurement exercises provide opportunities for new providers to obtain a contract to deliver legal aid services and existing contract holders to deliver additional services in other categories of law with a view to maximising available provision.Across England and Wales, we have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases. For example, we are providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term; the Green Paper consultation is expected in July 2024.The Ministry of Justice does not have data on the number and proportion of asylum seekers that have not had access to a local immigration and asylum legal aid provider in the last 12 months. At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.The LAA regularly engages with provider representative groups, including on the provision of immigration and asylum services, via forums such as the Civil Contract Consultative Group.The Ministry of Justice has not made an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the level of immigration and asylum legal aid provision on the success rate of asylum appeals in Coventry in the last 12 months. We do publish data on tribunal outcomes as a part of the published statistics – see tab FIA3 in the main tables (Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Prisoners' Release: Women

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether female prisoners will be eligible for release 60 days early under the End of Custody Supervised Licence.

Edward Argar: As we announced in October, ECSL operates across the prison estate in the specific prisons where it is absolutely necessary, including the women’s estate.

Prisoners' Release

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals will be released under the end of custody supervised license scheme in 2024.

Edward Argar: While ECSL is in operation, it will continue to free up spaces as more prisoners reach the point in their sentence when they become eligible for release, but only where that continues to be necessary to remain within maximum capacity levels.An analysis of its use will be based on one year’s worth of data and published on an annual basis in line with other statistics.

Probation Service: Vacancies

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies in the probation service there were in each region on 1 January 2024.

Edward Argar: The workforce position, at 31 December 2023, was 20,806 full-time equivalent (FTE) Staff in Post working in Probation Service grades (including those working in Approved Premises). This is an increase of 1,856 FTE (9.8%) since 31 December 2022.Recruitment and retention remain a priority across the Probation Service and we have injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year since 2021 to deliver more robust supervision, recruit more staff and reduce caseloads to keep the public safer.We have recruited a record 4,039 trainee Probation Officers between 2020/21 and 2022/23 and we expect these intakes to qualify by the end of 2024 and begin to take on Probation Officer caseloads.Trainee Probation Officers are onboarded twice annually (including this March which will not be counted in the figures below), and this can lead to fluctuations in staffing levels across the year.We will continue to run centralised recruitment campaigns in priority regions to help bolster the number of applications.Table One: Vacancies across Probation Service Regions, December 2023, all Probation Service grades.Probation Service RegionVacancies (FTE)PS East Midlands21PS East of England277PS Greater Manchester15PS Kent, Surrey & Sussex121PS London463PS North East50PS North West128PS South Central154PS South West85PS Wales0PS West Midlands82PS Yorkshire & the Humber45PS Approved Premises0NotesData shows average resource across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers within the month. Data shown as of December 2023, aligning with the most recent HMPPS Workforce Quarterly publication. More recent data cannot be provided due to potentially pre-empting future statistical publications.Vacancies have been calculated as Required Staffing (FTE) minus Staff in Post (FTE).Where the number of Staff in Post (FTE) in a region exceeds Required Staffing (FTE), the number of vacancies has been shown as 0 FTE. Summing the figures in the table will not give the overall number of vacancies across the Probation Service due the surpluses in some regions that haven’t been shown in the table.Vacancies have been netted off between grades and business units. As a result, the overall vacancy figures presented mask the presence of vacancies at both grade and business unit level.Data have been taken from the Workforce Planning Tool and are subject to inaccuracy as a result of the manual nature with which returns are completed. This approach differs from the published statistics, which uses data from the Single Operating Platform (our departmental HR system).Staff in Post (FTE) has not been adjusted for long-term absences (e.g. Trainee Probation Officer training time). In addition, we have not factored in loans / temporary cover / agency and sessional. The actual resourced position will therefore differ as a result of these.Trainee Probation Officers are included in the data. Trainees spend a proportion of their time training and the remainder of their time carrying out work at a Band 3 PSO level. Both training time and time spent delivering caseload are included in the Staff in Post (FTE) calculations, which means that number of vacancies is lower than the actual gap between Required Staffing and frontline delivery.

Prisons: Civil Disorder

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many barricade or prevention of access incidents took place in prisons in England and Wales in each year since 2018.

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents at height occurred in a prison in England and Wales in each year since 2018.

Edward Argar: A barricade or prevention of access is an incident where one or more prisoners deny access to all or part of a prison, by use of any physical barrier, to those lawfully empowered to have such access.An incident at height is any incident that takes place above or below ground level where a person could be injured if they fell from that place. Incidents at height come in many forms, ranging from internal incidents (prisoners on the fall arrest netting or climbing over bars) to an external incident (prisoners on the roof).The information requested can be found in the HMPPS Annual Digest - Protesting Behaviour data tool: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c1438a90b545000d3e83c4/7.__Protesting_behaviour_data_tool.xlsx.These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing returns but the detail is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level.The national staffing position in prisons is improving, with a substantial increase of over 1,634 Full-Time Equivalent Band 3-5 prison officers in the 12 months ending 31 December 2023.We are committed to making prisons a safe place to work and providing prison officers with the right support, training and tools to empower them to do their jobs. We are providing targeted support to prisons to operate the Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan (CSIP) which provides a framework for managing violence that is centred around the individual needs of prisoners, helping them to move away from violent behaviours.

Prisons: Drugs

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the positive test rate was of random mandatory drug tests in each prison in England and Wales in 2023.

Edward Argar: Figures for random Mandatory Drug Testing (rMDT) for 2023 cannot be released at this time, as rMDT data for April 2023 - March 2024 is subject to future publication in the 2023-24 HMPPS Annual Digest, to be published in July 2024.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Thames Water

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many meetings the permanent secretary of his Department has held with Thames Water on Operation Timber in the last 12 months.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will publish the minutes of meetings that officials in his Department have had with Thames Water on Operation Timber in each of the last 6 months.

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, when the Permanent Secretary of his Department last met officials from Thames Water to discuss Operation Timber.

Robbie Moore: The Permanent Secretary and senior officials in my department hold meetings with water companies, including Thames Water, on a regular basis to discuss issues affecting the water sector. As water companies are commercial entities, it is neither appropriate to comment on specific water companies, on the frequency of any such meetings nor publish any minutes of those meetings.

Flood Control: Finance

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March 2024 to Question 15154 Flood Control: Finance, in which local authority areas the completed flood defences are located; what type of flood defences they are; and how many homes are protected by those flood defences in each local authority area.

Robbie Moore: We are in the third year of the current 6-year £5.2 billion Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) investment programme. This investment programme will better protect hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses from flooding and coastal erosion. At the end of March 2023, approximately £1.5 billion of this funding has been invested with 60,000 properties better protected from flooding and coastal erosion. This was delivered through over 200 completed schemes. Below is a table which shows properties better protected by Local Authority boundary between April 2021 and March 2023. The figures include Environment Agency, Local Authority, and Internal Drainage Board flood and coastal risk management projects that fall within that boundary. We are unable to provide a breakdown of the type of flood defences for each authority. However, the Environment Agency’s Programme of flood and coastal erosion risk management shows completed FCERM schemes within the previous 6-year investment programme (2015-2021), and the first year of the current capital investment programme (2021-2027) which are now better protecting homes. Each year the Environment Agency also produces a summary of flood and coastal erosion risk management work carried out by risk management authorities in England. This is required under Section 18 of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010. When the current FCERM investment programme ends, after March 2027, the Environment Agency will publish a report with a breakdown of spending, similar to the report published in 2022 after the 2015-2021 investment programme. Please see the table attached. Notes for the table: The figures are based on the best available information.Flood and coastal schemes built in one Local Authority boundary may benefit under another Local Authority Boundary.Projects that cross multiple boundaries have been grouped together under the ‘cross-boundary projects’ row.The properties were better protected between April 2021 and March 2023. The April 2023 to March 2024 figures have not yet been finalised.

Food: Waste

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will set a food waste reduction target for the Waste and Resources Action Programme.

Robbie Moore: We are fully committed to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 target, which seeks to halve global food waste at consumer and retail levels by 2030. We fund the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to manage the Courtauld Commitment, a voluntary agreement with industry to tackle food waste across the supply chain, with a target of a 50% per capita reduction in food waste by 2030 against the UK’s 2007 baseline. These are ambitious targets, and we are making progress. Between 2007-2021, UK per capita food waste fell by 26kg per person per year, that’s an 18.3% reduction. Through WRAP we continue to support businesses and citizens to take action, with more than £2 million going to our food waste prevention programme this year.

Water: Standards

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many and what proportion of applications for new designated bathing water sites were (a) accepted and (b) rejected since 2010.

Robbie Moore: Since 2010 there have been 24 successful applications for bathing water designation in England. For data retention reasons, we only hold the number of unsuccessful applications from 2016. In 2023 Defra received 30 applications for proposed new designated bathing waters, 27 of which met the application eligibility criteria and were therefore included in the public consultation which closed on 10 March 2024. Based on our records, the breakdown of successful and unsuccessful applications for designated bathing waters received since 2010 is in the attached table.applications for designated bathing waters  (pdf, 54.4KB)

Forest Holidays

Dehenna Davison: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will have discussions with Forest Holidays UK on the potential impact of their developments on (a) ecology and (b) habitats.

Rebecca Pow: Forest Holidays is a commercial undertaking that develops and provides overnight cabin accommodation in the nation’s forests, which are managed by Forestry England. The partnership between the Forestry Commission and Forest Holidays is managed on a commercial lease basis and the Forestry Commission acts as landlord of Forest Holidays sites. Forestry England is an Executive Agency of the Forestry Commission. Forestry England carries out careful and systematic reviews of areas of the nation’s forests where any development might be considered, to assess whether environmental or other considerations should preclude the development. All Forest Holidays proposals adhere to the principles of ‘biodiversity net gain’. Forest Holidays completes a broad suite of ecological studies, including assessments for protected species at potential new cabin locations. Protection of flora and fauna both during construction and post operation is secured through adherence to method statements and management plans which are submitted with a full planning application. Forest Holidays developments are subject to the same local authority managed planning permission controls as any other recreational site developer. This will include environmental assessments and formal consultation as required by the respective local planning authority. As an Executive Agency of the Forestry Commission (FC), Forestry England is discussed with Ministers in FC's bimonthly Ministerial Delivery Meetings and their six-monthly Ministerial Performance Review.

Tree Planting

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what progress he has made on his targets on tree planting in (a) England and (b) Yorkshire; and what steps he is taking to measure progress on extending the canopy of the White Rose Forest.

Rebecca Pow: Last year we planted 3,600 hectares of new woodland and trees outside of woodland, this represents the highest planting rate for nearly a decade and an almost 40% increase on the previous year. This positive trend represents significant progress in achieving our targets and we have a strong pipeline for the next few years. We do not have regional targets for tree planting in England. Between 2020 and 2023 our Nature for Climate Fund has supported the White Rose Forest to plant 679 hectares of new trees and woodlands as part of England’s Community Forests Trees for Climate Programme. An additional 4.55 hectares plus 847 Standard Trees have been planted in the White Rose Forest under the Northern Forest Nature for Climate Grant between 2021 and 2023. With continued funding, the White Rose Forest is projected to plant significant additional hectares of woodland and numbers of standard trees this year.

Environment Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his timeframe is for publishing the terms of reference for the cross-government delivery board on the (a) 25-year environment plan and (b) environmental improvement plan.

Rebecca Pow: The cross-Government 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP) Board was established in December 2020. It is responsible for overseeing, coordinating and driving forward action to implement the 25YEP, and associated requirements under the Environment Act 2021. It is the central authority for cross-Government oversight, coordination and action towards the targets, outcomes and commitments of the plan across Government. The 25 YEP Board is part of wider governance and assurance that includes Defra and cross-Government management of outcomes. There are no current plans to publish the Terms of Reference.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Cultural Heritage: Repairs and Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to ensure an (a) adequate level of and (b) equitable distribution of funding for the maintenance of heritage assets across each area of the country with those assets.

Julia Lopez: Significant public funding is distributed to heritage assets across the country, both through HM Government and our key partners, such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.Historic England provides funding for heritage through various grant schemes, including £11.3 million annually for Heritage at Risk. Funding is allocated to achieve a equitable regional distribution. Historic England has also awarded public funding to 67 historic High Streets across England through the £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zone Programme, with the majority of this funding being used to repair and improve heritage assets. This investment has seen derelict and underused buildings restored to become new community and commercial spaces, with over half of the High Street Heritage Action Zones in priority 1 Levelling Up Areas.The National Lottery Heritage Fund also provides funding for heritage projects with a community angle across the country, awarding more than £8.4 billion in Lottery funds to more than 46,000 heritage projects across the UK. The Heritage Fund has made awards in every parliamentary constituency in the UK.More broadly, through the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, HM Government is investing in many projects which benefit heritage across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Furthermore, the £150 million Community Ownership Fund is open to groups across the UK to take ownership of heritage assets which are at risk of being lost to the community. Many of these projects are benefiting heritage assets in areas across the country.

Arts: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she had discussions with the Secretary of State for Education on increasing children's access to (a) music, (b) drama, (c) dance and (d) other arts and cultural activities out of school.

Julia Lopez: Ministers in both the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Department for Education have regular discussions on a range of subjects, including the development of their joint Cultural Education Plan, as committed to in the DfE’s Schools White Paper, which aims to support for all children and young people (aged 0–18) to access a broad range of high-quality cultural education subjects, activities, and experiences in and out of school. This includes encouraging engagement and partnerships between schools and cultural providers out of school, such as public libraries, theatres and museums.The Government also published a new National Plan for Music Education in June 2022. This refreshed plan, The Power of Music to Change Lives, aims to level up music opportunities for all children and young people, regardless of circumstance, needs or geography, in addition to raising the profile and time spent on music lessons in school. We are making £25 million of new funding available to purchase hundreds of thousands of musical instruments and equipment for young people, including adaptive instruments for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities so more young people can find and explore a passion for music.

Sports: Location

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department is taking steps to encourage (a) the Football Association and (b) other English national sport associations to organise games outside of London.

Stuart Andrew: Decisions relating to the staging of fixtures are a matter for national governing bodies of sports. However, we welcome the success that the FA, the ECB, the RFU, England Netball and other national governing bodies have enjoyed in hosting representative fixtures across the country.The government continues to work with UK Sport and prospective event partners on the bidding, planning and delivery of major sporting events. As outlined in the DCMS and UK Sport guidance, the ‘Gold Framework’, revised in 2023, this includes ensuring that hosting and therefore the benefits felt by communities are spread across the country. We have demonstrated this in recent events, such as the UEFA Women’s European Championships 2022, spread across 10 cities, and the Rugby League World Cup matches in the same year across 18 towns and cities, including Newcastle, and mainly hosted in the north of the country. In our pipeline of events, the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup covers England, with the opening match in Sunderland. Our successful bid for the UEFA Men’s European Championships 2028 means that matches are set to take place across the UK and Ireland.

Gambling: Marketing

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that gambling operators comply with codes of practice relating to content marketing.

Ronnie Cowan: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies on gambling advertisements of the findings on the relative appeal of gambling content marketing to children and those over the age of 25 in the report by the University of Bristol entitled What are the odds? The appeal of gambling adverts to children and young persons on twitter, published in October 2021.

Stuart Andrew: In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while recognising that advertising is an entirely legitimate commercial practice for responsible gambling firms.In April last year, HM Government published a White Paper on gambling which outlined a comprehensive package of reforms to make gambling safer following an exhaustive assessment of the evidence, including on gambling advertising. We concluded that further action on advertising was needed, which is why we and the Gambling Commission are introducing measures to tackle the most aggressive and harmful advertising practices by preventing bonuses being constructed and targeted in harmful ways, giving customers more control over the marketing they receive, and introducing messaging about the risks associated with gambling.This supplements the already robust rules in place to ensure that gambling advertising is socially responsible and that it cannot be targeted at or strongly appeal to children. This includes specific licence conditions for operators, including the requirement to abide by the UK Advertising Codes, which further regulate how gambling operators advertise. The UK Advertising Codes were strengthened in 2022, with new protections for children and vulnerable adults.

Sports: Concussion

Damian Collins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many times the Sports Concussion Research Forum has met as of 13 March 2024; what priority areas for research it has (a) identified and (b) taken steps to deliver; and what (i) guidance and (ii) findings it has presented to (A) her Department and (B) other bodies for which she is responsible.

Stuart Andrew: Evidence-based sports research is an important component in ensuring that sport is made as safe as possible for all participants. To that end, DCMS established a Sports Concussion Research Forum in July 2022, chaired by the Medical Research Council, part of UK Research and Innovation. This brings together key academic experts with experience of traumatic brain injury, neurology and concussion to identify the priority research questions for the sporting sector.The Research Forum has met five times since its inception and is now formulating a report to identify those priority research questions, with the report expected to be completed in 2024.The Government remains committed to working with sports stakeholders to build on the positive work that is already taking place to mitigate the causes and effects of concussion in sport.

Swimming Pools: Hendon

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the Swimming Pool Support Fund on (a) the Copthall pools and (b) other leisure facilities in the Hendon constituency.

Stuart Andrew: The government recognises the importance of ensuring public access to swimming pools, as swimming is a great way for people of all ages to stay fit and healthy. The responsibility of providing this access lies at Local Authority level, and the Government continues to encourage Local Authorities to support swimming facilities. In 2023/24, the Government has provided over £60 million additional funding to support operating costs and help improve energy efficiency of facilities through the Swimming Pool Support Fund, delivered via Sport England.Announcement of successful Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF) Phase I revenue funding awards was made by Sport England and on gov.uk on 4 November 2023. The fund was significantly oversubscribed and as a result we were unfortunately not able to fund all centres who applied. The criteria considered a range of factors including: financial need; the risk of closure; the proximity to other swimming pools providing public swimming access, and the level of demand for the facility.

Gambling: Ombudsman

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent ombudsman to enforce gambling operators’ duty of care.

Stuart Andrew: Following the Government’s review of the Gambling Act 2005, and the Gambling White Paper, published in April 2023, we are introducing a package of measures to further prevent gambling-related harm, including a commitment to establish a non-statutory ombudsman to strengthen protections for customers where things go wrong. The body will adjudicate complaints, including those relating to social responsibility or gambling harm, where an operator is not able to.We are working at pace with industry and all stakeholders in the sector, including the Ombudsman Association, to ensure customers have access to an ombudsman that is fully operationally independent in line with Ombudsman Association standards, and is fully credible in the eyes of customers. As set out in the white paper, it is important that the body adjudicates fairly and transparently all complaints regarding social responsibility or gambling harm issues where an operator is not able to resolve these.We remain clear that if this approach does not deliver as we expect, or shortcomings emerge regarding the ombudsman’s remit, powers or relationship with industry, the government will actively explore the full range of options to legislate to create a statutory ombudsman.

Sports: Gambling

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of self-regulation by the sporting industry in reducing the quantity of gambling messaging seen by viewers.

Stuart Andrew: In our approach to gambling advertising, we have struck a balanced and evidence-led approach which tackles aggressive advertising that is most likely to appeal to children, while recognising that advertising is an entirely legitimate commercial practice for responsible gambling firms.We have welcomed the industry's whistle-to-whistle ban on TV betting adverts during live sports programmes. According to figures from the Betting and Gaming Council, the ban reduced the quantity of gambling advertisement views by children (age 4-17) by 70% over the full duration of live sporting programmes.Further, alongside the Premier League’s announcement that it will ban gambling sponsors from the front of shirts by the end of the 2025/26 season, the gambling white paper commitment for a cross-sport Code of Conduct for gambling sponsorship has now been agreed by a number of the country’s major sports governing bodies. This will guarantee that where gambling sponsorship does appear, it is done in a responsible way to ensure fans, especially children, are better protected. This code will include provisions to ensure replica shirts for both children and adults are available without front-of-shirt gambling logos and a proportion of in-stadia advertising is dedicated to safer gambling messaging.

Football: Governing Bodies

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, when she plans to introduce a Football Governance Bill.

Stuart Andrew: The Football Governance Bill was introduced to Parliament on 19 March 2024.This delivers on the Government's longstanding commitment to protect the national game. By establishing an Independent Football Regulator we are safeguarding the future of clubs for the benefit of communities and fans.

Cultural Heritage: Repairs and Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will develop a national register of (a) the condition and (b) maintenance requirements of heritage assets.

Julia Lopez: The heritage assets most at risk of loss or irreparable damage are already captured through Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register. This tool is used to map the assets at risk, and to improve the likelihood of solutions being found.Significant funding is currently distributed to heritage assets across the country, both through Government and our key partners, such as Historic England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Historic England works to remove buildings from the Register, working with local decision-makers to alleviate risk by facilitating repairs, finding new uses for assets which are unoccupied but capable of reuse, and pursuing creative solutions to sustain those which are not. Historic England also targets the investment of its grants where reducing risk will bring the greatest benefits, an approach which has proved highly successful in its £95 million High Street Heritage Action Zones programme.

Cultural Heritage: Repairs and Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps with Cabinet colleagues to help ensure that the visitor economy supports the maintenance and upkeep of heritage assets.

Julia Lopez: The visitor economy has a significant and positive impact on the support and maintenance of our heritage assets. In 2021, despite COVID-19 restrictions, there were over 119 million domestic day visits to heritage sites, 15 million domestic overnight heritage trips, and 2.74 million international visits to heritage sites, demonstrating that heritage is a major driver for both international and domestic tourism, and a key source of income for local people. Twenty-eight per cent of international visits include a castle or historic house, according to VisitBritain research.The Tourism Recovery Plan, published in 2021, set out the Government's commitment to the enhancement and conservation of the country’s cultural heritage. Our investment in supporting the conservation of tourism assets included the £67 million in capital funding for maintenance and restoration projects for historic sites and destinations through the Heritage Stimulus Fund and National Lottery Heritage Fund Kickstarter funds. We have also established the Tourism Industry Council Working Group on Sustainability with the British Tourism Authority to drive forward this objective.Following the Review into Destination Management Organisations, the new Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation programme will ensure that organisations work in collaboration locally, regionally, and nationally on shared priorities and targets. This includes marketing and promotion of local cultural heritage sites and destinations. There are now 30 newly accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships across England.

Cultural Heritage and Museums and Galleries: Children

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of providing people under of the age of 16 with free access to (a) museums, (b) galleries and (c) heritage assets.

Julia Lopez: DCMS sponsored museums are already free to enter for people of any age. HM Government also operates a VAT refund scheme (known as section 33a), for other museums offering free entry across the UK, with 159 museums currently benefiting from it.Many museums, galleries and heritage sites also offer free or discounted entry to young people specifically, both through general admission or educational events and activities inside and outside school. For example, English Heritage, which manages the National Heritage Collection, offers free entry to pre-booked schools and other learning groups at any of the 400+ historic places in its care.HM Government recognises and celebrates the critical role that museums and heritage organisations have in delivering education and supporting the national curriculum, and funds Arts Council England and Historic England to deliver the Museums and Schools and Heritage Schools programmes.

Commemorative Plaques: Hendon

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of the national expansion of the blue plaques scheme on the cultural heritage of Hendon constituency.

Julia Lopez: The blue plaque scheme plays an important role in championing local cultural heritage, and its expansion will ensure that more places around the country will be able to commemorate local people who made their mark on national (and international) life.The national expansion will build on the success of the London scheme operated by English Heritage, which covers the Hendon constituency, and which is now more than 1,000 blue plaques strong. The London scheme remains open for nominations via the English Heritage website. There are 19 blue plaques in the London Borough of Barnet, including ones dedicated to the football manager Herbert Chapman, the music hall comedian Little Tich, and Juan Pujol Garcia, also known as Agent Garbo.Public nominations for the national blue plaques scheme will be launched at the end of May and will invite nominations from people across England to celebrate inspirational figures who deserve commemoration. The scheme, which is being developed and led by Historic England, recognises that every place has a unique story to tell, and will help communities across England discover the history and cultural heritage on our doorsteps.

Brass Bands: Shropshire

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what plans she has to provide financial support to (a) adult and (b) youth brass bands in (i) Telford and Wrekin borough and (ii) Shropshire in the next five years.

Julia Lopez: Arts Council England, which is funded by taxpayers and National Lottery players, is working with Brass Bands England, the sector support organisation for brass bands. In particular, it is providing support to brass bands across the country to develop their membership and audiences.While there are no specific plans for the funding of brass bands in Telford and Wrekin borough or Shropshire at present, brass bands from anywhere in the country are eligible to apply for Arts Council England’s National Lottery project grants. Since April 2022, the Arts Council has provided over £500,000 of funding for 21 applications from brass bands. It also provides annual funding to the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain and the organisation Making Music, both of which support youth and amateur adult brass bands.

Listed Buildings: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many designated listed buildings of each grade of listing there are in (a) South Holland and (b) South Kesteven District.

Julia Lopez: This information can be found by using the advanced search facility of the National Heritage List for England (https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/advanced-search/), which is maintained by Historic England on behalf of the Secretary of State.

Listed Buildings: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many Building Preservation Notices have been issued in (a) South Holland and (b) South Kesteven District in the last ten years.

Julia Lopez: Building Preservation Notices are served by local planning authorities.The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has no role in the serving of these notices, and does not maintain a central record of those that have been served.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy: Meters

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what discussions her Department has had with Ofgem on alternative energy meter arrangements for households reliant on Radio Teleswitch.

Amanda Solloway: In their recent open letter, the Office for Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) set a clear expectation that energy suppliers must replace Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters in a timely and efficient manner, before the RTS is switched off (now confirmed by EnergyUK as the end of June 2025). Households should contact their energy supplier to arrange their upgrades, so they can continue to benefit from multi rate tariffs. The Department will continue to engage with Ofgem and industry on this matter.

Hydrogen: Heating

Peter Grant: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when she plans to respond to  Questions 17752 and 17753 on Hydrogen: Heating, tabled on 8 March 2024 by the Hon. Member for Glenrothes.

Andrew Bowie: I replied to the Hon Member on Friday 15 March.

Home Office

Dogs: Animal Welfare

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many cases of ear cropping of dogs were (a) reported, (b) investigated and (c) charged in 2023.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects information on the number of offences of ‘Carrying out, permitting, causing to be carried out or failing to prevent prohibited procedure on a protected animal’ and their investigative outcomes, recorded by the police in England and Wales, on a quarterly basis. The latest information is available up to the end of September 2023.This shows that there were 16 offences of ‘Carrying out, permitting, causing to be carried out or failing to prevent prohibited procedure on a protected animal’ offences recorded in the first nine months of 2023. Of these cases eight resulted in the investigation being complete with charge or summonsed. Four cases are still under investigation.Table 1, Carrying out, permitting, permitting, causing to be caried out, or failing to prevent prohibited procedure on a protected animal, England and Wales, January 2023 to September 2023Outcome type/groupJanuary to September 2023*Charged/Summonsed8Evidential difficulties (suspect identified; victim supports action)2Investigation complete - no suspect identified1Further investigation to support formal action not in the public interest1Offences not yet assigned an outcome4Total16*Excluding West Midlands, Humberside and Devon and Cornwall Police Force

Motorcycles: Departmental Coordination

Peter Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling.

Chris Philp: The Home Office has no current plans to establish a cross-departmental task force to tackle illegal motorcycling. Enforcement of road traffic law and how available resources are deployed is the responsibility of individual Chief Officers and Police and Crime Commissioners, taking into account the specific local problems and demands with which they are faced.The Government has established a joint Home Office, Department for Transport and National Police Chiefs’ Council Roads Policing Review to understand what can be done better to tackle road crime and improve road safety.In addition, last year the Government launched the Anti-social Behaviour Action Plan (Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) ensuring the police, local authorities and other relevant agencies have the powers they need to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour, including motorcycle nuisance, facing communities across England and Wales.The plan is backed by £160m of funding and includes supporting an increased police and other uniformed presence to target anti-social behaviour hotspots. Initially we worked with 10 police force areas, including Durham Constabulary, but from April we are providing funding of £66m to every police force in England and Wales to support a hotspot enforcement approach for both anti-social behaviour and serious violence. Hotspot patrols could be used in areas where anti-social behaviour involving motorcycles is an issue.The Government will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation, including in relation to offences involving motorcycles.

Airports: Taiwan

Navendu Mishra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Taiwan on the use of e-gates for Taiwanese nationals at UK airports.

Tom Pursglove: Whilst we regularly review eGate eligibility for different passport holders, we operate the UK border, including eGate eligibility, solely in the UK interest, recognising the need to balance both passenger flow and border security.The Government has set out an ambitious vision to create an effective and secure border system. As part of this vision, we intend to investigate options to increase the use of automation and eGates by those passport holders currently ineligible to use them.

High Rise Flats: Safety

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his planned timetable is for implementing (a) all outstanding recommendations and (b) the outstanding recommendations related to the safety of disabled residents in high-rise buildings in the Grenfell Tower Inquiry phase one report.

Chris Philp: The Government is committed to delivering against the recommendations made in the Grenfell Tower Phase 1 report.The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, delivering the majority of the recommendations to Government, have now come into force, and most recently we have published guidelines to the Fire and Rescue Service to support their role in evacuation, meeting a further Inquiry recommendation.The remaining four recommendations to Government concern evacuation. Three of these are addressed in the proposals in the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus consultation, and for the fourth, concerning evacuation alert systems, this has been met for new high rise residential buildings, and the Home Office is undertaking further work regarding existing buildings, including developing an evidence base of existing evacuation alert systems.

High Rise Flats: Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has held recent discussions with disability advocacy groups on the (a) development and (b) implementation of personal emergency evacuation plans for disabled residents.

Chris Philp: Home Office officials have met with the Disability Rights UK, the Royal National Institute of Blind People, Deafblind UK, the Greater Manchester Coalition of Disabled People, Inclusion London, the Disability Resource Centre and United Response, and have sought engagement with further advocacy groups (which was not taken up).

High Rise Flats: Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department is taking steps to require building owners and managers to (a) create and (b) maintain personal emergency evacuation plans for all disabled residents in high-rise blocks.

Chris Philp: The Government has run two public consultations on supporting the evacuation and fire safety of vulnerable residents (which includes disabled residents) in light of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry recommendations concerning Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs).The first consultation found substantial difficulties in mandating PEEPs in high-rise residential buildings, focussed on practicality, proportionality and safety.The Government consulted upon a different package of measures during Summer 2022 – the Emergency Evacuation Information Sharing Plus consultation – and is now considering the responses to this, alongside the responses to its accompanying calls for evidence, and will publish a response in due course.

Visas: Ukraine

Neil Coyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 March 2024 to Question 17855, whether all renewal processes for Ukrainians already in the UK are meant to be online.

Tom Pursglove: Ukrainian guests wishing to apply for the Ukraine Permission Extension (UPE) scheme will need to apply online using the digital application process. Full details on the application process and of eligibility will be available on GOV.UK ahead of the scheme launching in early 2025. Our intention is to open UPE to applications 3 months before the expiry of a person’s current visa to ensure Ukrainians have sufficient time to apply to the scheme.

Immigration: Applications

Duncan Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether original copies of language certifications are required when applying for (a) citizenship and (b) settlement status.

Tom Pursglove: Original copies of language certificates are not always required when applying for citizenship or settlement. Applicants required to take the Secure English Language Test must provide a unique reference number which the Home Office checks against a central database to verify the qualification. However, where there is insufficient evidence provided to verify that an applicant has passed an approved English language test, an original copy of a language certificate may be required.

Refugees: Loans

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of people (a) received and (b) repaid a refugee integration loans since 2007.

Tom Pursglove: Refugee Integration Loans were introduced in 2007 following a public consultation and are intended to help people with the costs of integrating into UK society. They are funded by the Home Office, who make the initial decisions on applications. They are then administered and recouped by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).Refugee integration loans are interest-free loans with favourable repayment terms for individuals who are over 18 and meet the following eligibility criteria:a refugee;you have humanitarian protection;a dependant of a refugee or someone with humanitarian protection.Individuals are currently able to borrow between £100 and £500. Between £100 to £780 can be borrowed if submitting a joint application with a partner.The specific data requested cannot be provided as it comes from live operational databases that have not been quality assured.

Visas: Married People

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 15 January 2024 to Question 8266 on Visas: Married People and to his oral contribution of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, for what reason the Migration Advisory Committee was not consulted on those proposals.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Oral Statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, whether his Department invited representations from stakeholders prior to announcing an increase to the Minimum Income Requirement for family visas.

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his Oral Statement of 4 December 2023 on Legal Migration, Official Report, column 41, whether the joining family member of a person who (a) would have met the former threshold for family visas in force until 10 of April 2024 and (b) does not qualify under the new threshold will be placed on the 10-year route to settlement.

Tom Pursglove: The Government engages regularly with interested stakeholders including through a number of its advisory groups, when developing its policies. We did not invite representations from stakeholders specifically on the MIR prior to the announcement of 4 December 2023.The decision to raise the MIR was taken to ensure that migration policy is supportive of the wider ambition for the UK to be a high-wage, high-productivity, high-skill economy, and help to ensure that migrants make a net positive contribution to the public finances in addition to ensuring that families would not need to have recourse to welfare and had sufficient resources to participate in British life.Previous advice and evidence provided by the Migration Advisory Committee regarding net-fiscal contributions and access to benefits was considered when making this decision. We did not seek further advice from the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) before making the decision to increase the Minimum Income Requirement (MIR) element of the family Immigration Rules.A child who is applying for permission after 11 April 2024 to join their parent who, prior to 11 April met the lower threshold and was granted permission, will be subject to transitional arrangements and must meet the same threshold as their parent (£18,600 plus the child component, capped at £29,000). Where they meet the threshold alongside the other requirements of the 5-year route, they will be granted on the 5-year route to settlement.

Asylum: Rwanda

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people with rejected asylum applications have been approached regarding voluntarily relocation to Rwanda as of 13 March 2024.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what criteria his Department plans to use for selecting people with rejected asylum applications for proposed voluntary relocation to Rwanda.

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what safeguards his Department has put in place to ensure that people with a rejected asylum application being offered voluntary relocation to Rwanda are giving informed consent.

Michael Tomlinson: The option of voluntary relocation will be given to failed asylum seekers. If they wish to relocate, it is only right that we facilitate that in order to save taxpayers’ money and pressures on our public services.Regarding the voluntary relocation of individuals to Rwanda, it would be inappropriate to provide a running commentary on individual cases.If a person expresses an interest in the voluntary relocation, we are supporting people in ensuring that they have all the information they need in order to make a decision.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

High Rise Flats: Fires and Floods

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, how many high rise buildings above 11 metres required (a) demolition, (b) rebuilding and (c) refurbishment as a result of (i) fire and (ii) flooding in the last year.

Lee Rowley: The department’s latest released data on building safety can be found here.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Sir Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to reduce planning approval times for new electric vehicle charging installations.

Lee Rowley: Nationally set permitted development rights enable the installation of electric vehicle charging points (EVCPs) without the need for a planning application. We are currently consulting on changes to the rights to provide increased flexibility to individuals and organisations wishing to install EVCPs. The consultation is open until 9 April and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/changes-to-various-permitted-development-rights-consultation.

Housing: Rural Areas

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what recent steps his Department has taken to increase the building of homes in rural areas.

Lee Rowley: The Government is committed to building more homes, more quickly, more beautifully and more sustainably, and we must build homes in the places where people want to live and work.National planning policy expects local authorities to deliver, where practicable, the amount, type and tenure of new homes our communities need. Each authority is expected to assess and plan how to meet its local housing need over the plan period, and this includes meeting the housing needs of rural communities. Our Rural Exception Sites policy helps local authorities to address the needs of rural communities by accommodating residents and those with family or employment connections to the locality. Rural exception sites tend to be just outside village boundaries, where housing is not normally granted permission.

Prime Minister

European Court of Human Rights

Patrick Grady: To ask the Prime Minister, with reference to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Glasgow North of 13 March 2024, for what reasons he considers the European Court of Human Rights to be a foreign court.

Rishi Sunak: Because it is based in Strasbourg.

Northern Ireland Office

Pensioners: Northern Ireland

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will have discussions with Age NI on support for isolated pensioners in Northern Ireland.

Mr Steve Baker: While policies on this matter are ultimately devolved to the Northern Ireland Executive, the Secretary of State is committed to continuing to engage with groups across all sectors of society in Northern Ireland to discuss how the UK Government can support them.

Foreign Investment in UK: Northern Ireland

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has held recent discussions with the US government on steps arising from President Biden's statement in April 2023 on the number of US corporations that want to come to Northern Ireland.

Chris Heaton-Harris: The UK Government has been continually engaging with the US government since President Biden’s statement in April 2023 regarding investment into Northern Ireland. Last week I was in Washington D.C where I spoke to the US Special Envoy for Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs. I also attended a roundtable with the Federation of Small Businesses, and spoke to other US investors about the unique opportunity Northern Ireland has to offer. The UK has signed state-level Memorandums of Understanding with eight US states (Florida, Texas, Washington, Utah, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina and Indiana) to set out mutual goals and activities to strengthen our economic ties, as well as promote trade and investment, address trade barriers and enhance business networks. The Northern Ireland Investment Summit, held last September, highlighted Northern Ireland’s innovation and technological strengths to around 200 global investors. Guests included Joe Kennedy III (US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs) and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to the USA. The Summit showcased Northern Ireland’s innovation, deep expertise in industries of the future, and unparalleled investment opportunities given its unique trading position.

Cabinet Office

Civil Servants: Training

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether materials used in civil service diversity, equity, and inclusion training make reference to white privilege.

John Glen: The cross Civil Service diversity, equity and inclusion training designed for the Civil Service does not make reference to white privilege. We cannot comment on content not designed for the Civil Service or training designed for departments and professions to meet specific needs or that which is purchased outside of the centrally managed contracts.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Eutelsat and OneWeb: Space Technology

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the OneWeb and Eutelsat merger on the UK's (a) national security and (b) strategic interests in space and satellite technology.

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the OneWeb and Eutelsat merger on the UK's (a) strategic economic interests in space and satellite technology and (b) wider economy.

Andrew Griffith: OneWeb’s merger with Eutelsat means the Government now has a significant stake in a larger and more diverse company, which will play an important role in securing UK interests in an increasingly competitive satellite communications sector. The Government retains certain rights in OneWeb. These provide a range of national security rights and ensure that the UK remains a preferred location for activity on a commercially competitive basis. The merger was approved by all relevant regulatory bodies in 2023.  OneWeb continues to innovate in the UK satellite communications sector, contributing to one of Government’s five critical technologies for the future.

Artificial Intelligence: Expenditure

Damien Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to paragraph 5.174, page 105 of the Autumn Statement 2023, what steps her Department is taking through (a) distribution decisions and (b) monitoring of expenditure to help optimise the impact of funding for AI compute on the UK's (i) technological advancement and (ii) economic competitiveness.

Saqib Bhatti: UKRI is working with its delivery partner UKRI to identify appropriate host sites for the £500m AIRR expansion through a competitive process. We will provide updates on the outcomes in due course. DSIT is working with industry and academia to understand how AI and compute technologies are developing over time to ensure the UK secures best value for money and maximum impact from our investments. As announced in the 2024 Spring Budget, DSIT will set out in due course the access model for public compute facilities, ensuring that both researchers and innovative companies can access the compute they need.

4G and 5G: Lincolnshire

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to help improve (a) 4G and (b) 5G coverage in (i) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (ii) Lincolnshire.

Julia Lopez: This Government is taking steps to improve both 4G and 5G coverage across the country. Across the East Midlands, our £1bn agreement with the industry to deliver the Shared Rural Network (SRN) will see 4G coverage from all four Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) rise to 94%, up from 90% when the programme began in 2020. In addition to the SRN programme, the MNOs independently invest around £2 billion annually across the UK in enhancing and improving their networks. According to Ofcom’s Connected Nations report, basic, non-standalone, 5G is available outside 93% of premises in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency from at least one MNO. The Wireless Infrastructure Strategy, published in April 2023, set out the Government’s vision for wireless connectivity and announced a new ambition for nationwide coverage of higher quality standalone 5G in all populated areas by 2030. The strategy includes a series of measures to help the private sector invest in 5G networks by supporting competition, driving down deployment costs and driving the take-up of innovative, 5G-enabled tech by the business and the public sector. The Department provides extensive guidance for local authorities and operators to help facilitate broadband and mobile deployment through the Digital Connectivity Portal. We have also taken steps to make it easier and cheaper for operators to deploy 4G and 5G. This includes reforming the planning system in England. Alongside this, measures within the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Act 2022, will support the deployment of wireless infrastructure, including 4G and 5G.